Wilkes County voters will be able to take advantage of the newly passed Senate Bill 387 which allows eligible voters to cast their votes in person, without having to provide a reason, for a full 45 days prior to Election Day.

Wilkes County Voter Registrar Gladys Reese said that, due to the passage of Senate Bill 387 in the last legislative session, the county received notice in August from the Georgia Elections Division to enact the changes in Wilkes County.

As a result, Georgia law now allows for in-person absentee voting with "no excuse" similar to a mail-in absentee voting.

"You can now apply 'no excuse' to both mail-in and in-person absentee voting," she said. "The period beginning 45 days prior to any general primary or election, and 21 days prior to any municipal primary or election, will be referred to as 'Early Voting' rather than 'Advance Voting.'"

The longer period of early voting is causing some concern around the state. County registrars say that making it easier to vote outside the polling booth allows for mistakes to be made in the handling of ballots. "I've been offering to speak to groups to make sure they know all the rules for handling a mail-in ballot," Reese said. "There are several strict rules the Secretary of State puts on the handling of ballots, and a ballot can easily be invalidated by not knowing those rules."

For more information on the new early voting rules and ballot handling, contact the Wilkes County Registrar's office at 706-678-1850. The office is located in Room 425 in the courthouse.