Time is running out for those wishing to register to vote in the March 6 presidential preference primary.
The deadline to register for the election is Monday, Feb. 6. After that date, new voters will no longer be eligible to vote in the primary.
There will be plenty of chances to vote in advance of the March 6 election for those who have already made up their minds. In fact, Fayette County voters will have a chance to vote on Saturday, Feb. 25 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the county’s elections office on the second floor of the Stonewall government complex in downtown Fayetteville.
The entire early voting process begins Feb. 13 and will run Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the elections office. Starting Monday, Feb. 27, there will be early voting hosted at the library in Peachtree City and the town hall in Tyrone as well, also from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
On election day March 6, voters will have to visit their precinct in person sometime between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. But waiting that long puts a voter at risk of facing potentially long lines, as the presidential preference primary tends to draw a crowd every four years.
With the hotly contested Republican field, there is almost certain to be a high turnout rate among registered voters in Fayette County.
Anyone confused about their voting precinct for election day March 6 may get the information online at www.sos.ga.gov/MVP. To get that data, the voter will have to provide their first initial and last name, the county they are registered in and their birthdate.
In return, the website provides their precinct location, a sample ballot and a mail-in application for absentee voting.
This is also a good way for new voters to check and make sure they are indeed registered, said Fayette County Elections Supervisor Tom Sawyer.
Voters are reminded they will have to pick between a Democratic or Republican ballot for the primary, as they will not be allowed to vote on both parties’ candidates.
President Barack Obama is the only candidate on the Democratic ticket, while the Republican slate includes nine candidates, including not just frontrunners Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul … but also several candidates who have already withdrawn from the race: Michele Bachmann, Jon Huntsman and Rick Perry. Herman Cain’s name is not on the ballot because he dropped out early enough to have it removed by the state before the ballots were finalized, Sawyer said.
Sawyer said he hopes to have a sign posted reminding Republican voters of those who have officially dropped out of the race.
