Local Registrar cautions voters to avoid mailing unsolicited absentee ballot applications to the Registrar’s Office
Stephens County Registrar Eureka Gober is warning residents of a potential scam designed to confuse voters.
Gober says her office has been receiving hundreds of Absentee Ballot Applications that weren’t requested by voters delivered to the Registrar’s Office.
She says there’s a group that has been mailing absentee ballot applications to residents throughout the county advising them to fill out and return the applications to our local Registrar’s Office; however, Gober says anyone who voted by Absentee Ballot during the November 3rd election will not need to request an application from her office for the January 5th election.
She says you will automatically receive a ballot in the mail if certain requirements are met.
“For those people who are getting these absentee ballot applications, before you send those in, call me first. Today alone, today is Tuesday (December 1) we have had over 100 applications and people don’t need to send those if you voted by absentee ballot in the election last month you automatically will get an absentee ballot. Just call me before you put it in the mail. I’ve received several myself. I don’t know who’s sending these out, but its’ confusing for people. So, if you don’t mind, just give me a call, and I’ll explain it to you,” Gober said.
If you plan to vote by absentee ballot during the upcoming election and did not vote absentee during the previous election, Gober says you need to call her office to request one.
Gober says absentee ballots will be mailed out from the Georgia Secretary of States Office and not from outside of the state.
Additionally, WNEG News spoke with Stephens County resident Anne Shurley who says she has received three different absentee ballot applications addressed to one woman who does not live at her address.
Shurley says the absentee ballot applications she has received are being mailed from an organization called America Votes based out of Washington D.C.
WNEG News reached out to America Votes on Wednesday morning.
America Votes Spokesperson Sahil Mehrotra tells WNEG News, “America Votes has mailed registered voters in Georgia applications to safely and securely vote by mail in the January runoffs, to help everyone know how they can cast a ballot from home during this pandemic. These mailings were sent to the list of registered voters maintained by the Secretary of State.
“The forms we send are valid, blank absentee ballot request forms like application mailings the Secretary of State sent voters in Georgia’s primary election, but not the general and runoff elections. We’re pleased that so many Georgians have already applied to vote by mail for the January runoff and will continue our work to make sure every voice is heard in January,” he says.
Again, if you receive an absentee ballot application that you had not requested, please contact the Stephens County Registrar’s Office by calling 706-886-8954.