People walk through the ramp at the Voter Registration & Elections in Dekalb during the first day of early voting on Monday, June 13, 2022. Votes are underway in metro Atlanta for runoff races. Miguel Martinez / [email protected]
By Tyler Estep
The Saturday after Thanksgiving has been officially added to DeKalb and Fulton counties’ plans for advance voting ahead of next month’s U.S. Senate runoff.
Both local elections board previously approved offering early voting on Nov. 26, pending the outcome of a lawsuit challenging the state’s interpretation of a law prohibiting voting on the Saturday following a holiday. The Democratic Party of Georgia and Sen. Raphael Warnock — who’s vying for reelection against Republican Herschel Walker— argued that the law did not apply to runoff elections.
A Fulton County judge agreed.
“Given the accelerated timeline of the runoff, we are gratified that the courts ruled in favor of voters and ensuring the greatest access possible to participate in the election,” DeKalb elections board chair Dele Lowman Smith said in a news release. “We ask voters to bring an extra helping of patience and gratitude to the polls as our staff and poll workers are working through the holiday to carry out the runoff.”
DeKalb and Fulton are believed to be the only major metro Atlanta counties to approve Saturday voting in time to take advantage of the judge’s ruling (which the state has since appealed).
Their complete early voting schedules ahead of the Dec. 6 election are now set as listed below, at dekalbvotes.com and fultoncountyga.gov.
DEKALB COUNTY EARLY VOTING SCHEDULE
Wednesday, Nov. 23: Voting available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the county elections office (4380 Memorial Drive, Suite 300 in Decatur)
Saturday, Nov. 26: Voting available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at three locations: Dunwoody Library, 5339 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road in Dunwoody; the DeKalb election office, 4380 Memorial Drive, Suite 300 in Decatur; and the Gallery at South DeKalb (South DeKalb Mall), 2845 Candler Road in Decatur.
Sunday, Nov. 27: Voting available from noon to 5 p.m. at 16 locations (listed below). Hours may ultimately be extended, pending staffing and availability.
Monday, Nov. 28 through Friday, Dec. 2: Voting will be available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day at the 16 locations listed below. Additional locations could be added, pending availability.
EARLY VOTING LOCATIONS FOR NOV. 27-DEC. 2
- Berean Christian Church, 2201 Young Road in Stone Mountain
- Bessie Branham Recreation Center, 2051 Delano Drive NE in Atlanta
- Beulah Missionary Baptist Church, 2340 Clifton Springs Road in Decatur
- Briarwood Recreation Center, 2235 Briarwood Way NE in Brookhaven
- Clarkston Library, 951 N. Indian Creek Drive in Clarkston
- County Line – Ellenwood Library, 4331 River Road in Ellenwood
- Dunwoody Library, 5339 Chamblee Dunwoody Road in Dunwoody
- Emory University, 1599 Clifton Road in Atlanta
- DeKalb County elections office, 4380 Memorial Drive in Decatur
- North DeKalb Senior Center, 3393 Malone Drive in Chamblee
- The Gallery at South DeKalb, 2801 Candler Road in Decatur
- Former Sam’s Club building, 2994 Turner Hill Road in Stonecrest
- Salem-Panola Library, 5137 Salem Road in Stonecrest
- Tucker Library, 5234 LaVista Road in Tucker
- Wade Walker YMCA, 5605 Rockbridge Road SW in Stone Mountain
- Wesley Chapel Library, 2861 Wesley Chapel Road in Decatur
FULTON COUNTY EARLY VOTING SCHEDULE
Saturday, Nov. 26 through Friday, Dec. 2: Voting available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day, at the following locations.
- Alpharetta Library, 10 Park Plaza in Alpharetta
- Buckhead Library, 269 Buckhead Ave. NE in Atlanta
- C.T. Martin Recreation Center, 3201 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Atlanta
- Chastain Park Recreation Center, 140 Chastain Park Avenue NW in Atlanta
- Dorothy C. Benson Senior Multipurpose Complex, 6500 Vernon Wood Drive in Sandy Springs
- East Point Library, 2757 Main St. in East Point
- East Roswell Library, 2301 Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell
- Etris-Darnell Community Recreation Center, 5285 Lakeside Drive in Union City
- Fulton County Government Center, 130 Peachtree Street SW in Atlanta
- Gladys S. Dennard Library at South Fulton, 4055 Float Shoals Road in Union City
- Metropolitan Library, 1332 Metropolitan Parkway in Atlanta
- Milton Library, 855 Mayfield Road in Milton
- Northeast Spruill Oaks Library, 9560 Spruill Road in Johns Creek
- North Fulton Service Center, 7741 Roswell Road in Sandy Springs
- Northside Library, 3295 Northside Parkway NW in Atlanta
- Northwest Library at Scotts Crossing, 2489 Perry Boulevard NW in Atlanta
- Palmetto Library, 9111 Cascade Palmetto Highway in Palmetto
- Ponce De Leon Library, 980 Ponce De Leon Avenue NE in Atlanta
Robert F. Fulton Library at Ocee, 5090 Abbotts Bridge Road in Johns Creek - Roswell Library, 115 Norcross Street in Roswell
- South Fulton Service Center, 5600 Stonewall Tell Road in South Fulton
- Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Road SW in Atlanta
- Welcome All Recreation Center, 4255 Will Lee Road in College Park
- Wolf Creek Library, 3100 Enon Road SW in Atlanta
Read the original story on AJC.com.
