Advance voting in the Georgia General/ Nonpartisan Election will begin Monday, October 27, and continue through Friday, October 31, at the Lincoln County Elections and Registration Office, located in The Lincoln Center at 160 May Avenue.

To accommodate voters, office hours have been extended from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. each day next week.

"We urge people to go ahead and advance vote in order to shorten the lines on Election Day," said Kelvin Williams, director of elections for Lincoln County. "We are expecting a heavy turnout, which means if people do not take advantage of advance voting, they could possibly have to stand in line for up to two hours."

The General Election is set for Tuesday, November 4.

Designed to meet the needs of today's busy Georgians, advance voting allows any registered voter to cast a ballot in person at the county voter registration office the week prior to an election.

All the voter has to do is fill out an advance voting application and provide the poll official with one of the permitted forms of identification. The elector will then be issued a ballot to cast right there in the county office.

Georgia law now requires voters to provide one of the six forms of photo identification listed below:

.. A Georgia driver's license, even if it has expired.

.. Any valid state or federal government issued photo ID, including a free voter ID card, issued by the Georgia Department of Driver Services or the Lincoln County Board of Elections and Registration.

.. A valid United States passport.

.. A valid employee photo ID from any branch, department, agency, or entity of the United States Government, Georgia, or any county, municipality, board, authority, or other entity of this state.

.. A valid United States military photo ID.

.. A valid tribal photo ID.

Photo identification, for the purpose of voting only, may be obtained at the elections and registration office during regular business hours.

Along with advance voting, the elections office is likewise accepting applications for absentee ballots. The deadline for requesting that an absentee ballot be mailed to one's residence is Friday, October 31.

Requests for absentee ballot applications may be made by telephone (1-706-359-6126) or by written statement. The written statements may either be faxed to 1-706-359- 7396; mailed to the elections and registration office at P.O. Box 1419, Lincolnton, Georgia, 30817; or delivered to the elections and registration office. Elections officials are prohibited from accepting an application for absentee voting by mail that is handdelivered by the individual in whose name the request is being made.

Applications for absentee ballots must contain the address to which the ballot is to be mailed as well as sufficient information, such as a signature or date of birth, to identify the individual as a registered voter. In addition, electors are asked to include their telephone number.

All absentee ballots must be returned to the elections and registration office by 7 p.m. Tuesday, November 4. An absentee ballot may be hand-delivered by a second party only if the voter is disabled.

Moreover, electors need to keep in mind that they may cross party lines in the General Election. Voters were required to choose parties in the primary.

For additional information about the election process, contact the elections and registration office at 706-359- 6126.