Georgia Election Hub: Everything you need to vote Nov. 3

Your November 3 ballot is three layers of life in Lawrenceville stacked on one card: the state rules that set how and when you vote; the Gwinnett County races that decide your commission district and two school-tax questions; and a city layer that is already settled, with Lawrenceville’s Post 1 seat filled when Darion Ward qualified unopposed. The names at the top of the ticket matter, but so do the races that touch your street and your kids’ schools. This guide walks through all three in the order they come up at the counter, and ends with a checklist so the down-ballot lines don’t slip off.

Georgia’s 2026 General Election is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Here is what to know before you get there.

State of Georgia

The deadline to register for this election was Monday, October 5, 2026, so a neighbor who is not already on the rolls can no longer be added in time for November 3. Registration could be completed online, by mail, or in person through that October 5 deadline.

• To confirm you are still registered, see your assigned precinct, and pull a sample ballot, use the Secretary of State’s official My Voter Page.
• Statewide early in-person voting runs Tuesday, October 13 through Friday, October 30, 2026.

Georgia requires photo ID at the polls. Accepted forms include:

• A Georgia driver’s license — even if expired
• Any valid state- or federal-government-issued photo ID
• A free Georgia voter ID card
• A valid U.S. passport
• A military ID
• A tribal photo ID
• A qualifying government employee ID
• A student ID from a Georgia public college or university

A voter without acceptable ID can obtain a free Georgia voter ID card, or generally cast a provisional ballot and provide ID afterward within the applicable deadline.

Absentee voting by mail

• The absentee-ballot application must be received by Friday, October 23, 2026.
• The completed ballot must be received by the county elections office by 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
• Applicants must supply a Georgia driver’s-license or state ID number, or a copy or image of an accepted alternative ID.
• A completed ballot may be returned by mail, in an authorized indoor county drop box during permitted hours, or directly to the county registrar’s office.

Under SB 189, Georgia drop boxes must be indoors — at the county elections or registrar office or inside an early-voting location — and are open only during that location’s operating hours.

Key statewide races on November 3

• Governor: Keisha Lance Bottoms (Democrat) faces Rick Jackson (Republican); the seat is open because Republican Brian Kemp is term-limited.
• U.S. Senate: Incumbent Jon Ossoff (Democrat) faces Mike Collins (Republican) and Allen Buckley (Libertarian); Raphael Warnock’s seat is not up until 2028.
• Also on the ballot: lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, the commissioners of agriculture, insurance, and labor, state school superintendent, Public Service Commission, all 14 U.S. House districts, and state legislative and local races.

Gwinnett County

Gwinnett advance (early) voting runs Tuesday, October 13 through Friday, October 30, 2026, daily from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and any registered Gwinnett voter may cast a ballot at any advance-voting location in the county. On Election Day, November 3, 2026, Gwinnett polls are open 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and voters must use their assigned polling place.

Advance-voting locations include:

• Gwinnett Voter Registrations and Elections Beauty P. Baldwin Building, 455 Grayson Highway, Suite 200, Lawrenceville
• Bogan Park Community Recreation Center, Buford
• Collins Hill Library, 455 Camp Perrin Road, Lawrenceville
• Five Forks Library, 2780 Five Forks Trickum Road SW, Lawrenceville
• Rhodes Jordan Park Community Recreation Center, 100 East Crogan Street, Lawrenceville
• Shorty Howell Park Activity Building, 2750 Pleasant Hill Road, Duluth

Before Election Day, call Gwinnett Voter Registrations at the Beauty P. Baldwin Building in Lawrenceville to check whether your usual polling place has moved for November 3. You can also confirm your assignment, see your precinct, and pull your sample ballot on My Voter Page.

The five-member Gwinnett Board of Commissioners has two seats up this year: District 2 and District 4. In District 2, incumbent Democrat Ben Ku faces Republican Rodolfo Ochoa. In District 4, incumbent Republican Matthew Holtkamp faces Democrat Benjamin Culberson. Because the race is district-based, each voter sees only the commission contest for the district that covers their own address.

The Gwinnett Board of Education Districts 2 and 4 were nonpartisan races decided in the May 19, 2026 election, so neither is on the November 3 ballot. In May, Chelsea Hutchings won District 2 and incumbent Adrienne Simmons won District 4.

Two tax questions will be on the November 3 Gwinnett ballot:

• E-SPLOST continuation: extends Gwinnett’s 1% education sales tax for a maximum of five years or until a $1.4 billion cap is reached, funding the Gwinnett County Public Schools capital plan.
• Homestead exemption (HB 540): expands the existing additional $2,000 exemption from Gwinnett school-district educational property taxes to disabled veterans and all Gwinnett County Public Schools and Buford City Schools employees, effective January 1, 2027 if approved.

A separate proposal, HB 1524, would offer a 50% school-tax homestead exemption to residents 65 to 69 and a full exemption to residents 70 or older; check your official sample ballot to see whether that referendum is on your November 3 card.

City of Lawrenceville

The Lawrenceville City Council Post 1 special election has been canceled: Darion Ward was the only candidate to qualify, and no write-in qualified, so he was certified elected without an election. Ward’s term runs through December 31, 2027, with his swearing-in scheduled for October 13, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. at Lawrenceville City Hall.

The cancellation affects only the city’s Post 1 race — state, county, and federal voting on November 3 is unaffected — and the previously planned special-election advance voting at City Hall will not take place.

Because Lawrenceville is split across multiple state legislative districts, a voter’s state House and Senate races depend on their exact street address, so residents should check My Voter Page for their precise district and candidates. Inside Lawrenceville, advance voting is available at the Beauty P. Baldwin Building, Collins Hill Library, Five Forks Library, and Rhodes Jordan Park Community Recreation Center.

Your November 3 checklist

• Confirm you are registered, find your assigned polling place, and pull your sample ballot on My Voter Page.
• Pick when to vote: advance in person October 13 through October 30, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., at any Gwinnett location, or on Election Day November 3 at your assigned precinct, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m..
• If voting absentee, request by October 23 and get the completed ballot to the county elections office by 7:00 p.m. November 3 — by mail, a drop box, or the registrar’s office.
• Bring a photo ID; if you don’t have one, get a free Georgia voter ID card or plan to cast a provisional ballot and provide ID afterward.
• Study the whole card before you go: governor and U.S. Senate at the top, then the commission race for your own district — District 2 or District 4, whichever covers your address — and the E-SPLOST and homestead-exemption questions.
• Remember what is already decided: school board Districts 2 and 4 were settled in May, and Lawrenceville’s Post 1 seat was filled when Darion Ward qualified unopposed, so don’t hunt for races that aren’t on your card.

Carry the down-ballot stakes to the counter with you: the commission seat for your own district is on the card, and the two school-funding questions touch different kinds of tax — the E-SPLOST is a 1% sales tax that funds school construction, while the homestead-exemption question changes how much school property tax certain homeowners owe. Your district’s commission seat and those two tax questions are still yours to decide; the Square’s council seat, already settled in Ward’s hands, is not.