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Newton officials detail changes to absentee ballot deadlines, drop box, advance voting locations
Advance voting 1
In this file photo, voters stand in a line that circled the Newton County Administration Building Monday, Oct. 12, 2020, on the first day of the 16-day advance voting period before the Nov. 3, 2020, General Election. - photo by Taylor Beck

COVINGTON, Ga. — Elections officials recently gave information on changes to state elections laws since 2020 concerning absentee ballots and Newton County’s two advance voting locations May 2 for the upcoming primary elections.

The deadline is approaching to apply for an absentee ballot for the upcoming General Election primary.

And changes the Georgia General Assembly approved in 2021 to the state’s voting laws mean the system of casting an absentee ballot has changed for the 2022 elections.

Deadline for applications for absentee ballots for the upcoming primary election is Friday, May 13. Voter information and absentee ballot applications can be found on www.mvp.sos.ga.gov/MVP/mvp.do.

Call 770-784-2055 or visit www.co.newton.ga.us/167/Board-of-Elections-Registration.

Absentee ballots can be mailed as usual. They also can be placed in a drop box, which is only accessible during business hours inside the Elections and Voter Registration office during the advance voting period May 2-20, according to elections officials.

The ballots can be placed in the box located inside the front office of the Elections office in Suite 103 on the first floor of the Newton County Administration Building at 1113 Usher St. in Covington Monday through Friday, May 2-24, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Newton County elections officials said.

For those wanting to vote in-person during the advance voting period May 2-24, Newton County will offer two locations for the upcoming primary election:

• Prospect United Methodist Church, 6752 Highway 212, Covington, GA 30016.

• Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, 4140 Clark Street SW Covington, Ga 30014.

Dates and hours for advance voting for each location are:

• Prospect United Methodist Church:

-May 2-6, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

-May 9-13, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

-May 16-20, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

• Good Shepherd Episcopal Church:

-May 2-6, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

-May 7, Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

-May 9-13, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

-May 14, Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

-May 15, Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

-May 16-20, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

The two churches replace advance voting locations used in the 2020 elections, including the Newton County Administration Building and Porter Memorial Library on Ga. Hwy. 212.

Both lacked adequate parking and indoor voting space, said Board of Elections Chairman Phil Johnson. Lines around both buildings and long waits were common during the three-week advance voting period.

This year’s advance voting also includes a new Sunday voting day and an additional Saturday voting day.

“We have expanded from one Saturday to two Saturdays and added a Sunday voting time,” Johnson said. “That gives people the opportunity to have a day to early vote congruous with their work schedule.”