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The Troup County Board of Commissioners approved an agreement Tuesday with the City of Hogansville that will enable the creation of a second early voting location for the November election.

This will be the first time Hogansville hosts early voting, according to county Elections and Registration Supervisor Andrew Harper. Early voting will at the Hogansville City Hall Annex, located at 600 East Main Street. This building was formerly the public library and should not be confused with the new library on Johnson Street. The new library will serve as a voting precinct on election day but will not be used for early voting.

Early voting will also take place at the Troup County Government Center in LaGrange. As long as you are registered to vote in Troup County, you can vote early at either location.

Early voting starts Oct. 12 and is available through Oct. 30, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at both locations. There will also be one Saturday where early voting occurs — Oct. 24 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The City of Hogansville will reimburse the county for its early voting location, per the agreement, because the Hogansville City Council voted to have early voting after the county’s budget was passed. In the agreement, the expenses are estimated to be about $12,000.

It’s also stipulated that, if Hogansville plans to hold early voting for its municipal elections, it will pay the county to operate that, as well.

The county has agreements with all three cities in the county whereby the county operates municipal elections and is reimbursed by the cities. 

West Point has not requested an early voting location, Harper said at last week’s Board of Commissioners work session.

Commissioners also approved a grant application by Harper’s office. Backed by a $250 million contribution from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, The Center for Tech and Civic Life is providing grants to local election jurisdictions across the country to help with staffing, training and equipment.

Harper said he wasn’t yet sure how much money Troup County would receive, but that the money could be used for equipment for poll workers and personal protective equipment (PPE). According to the CTCL, the minimum grant award is $5,000, though the amount of money given to a jurisdiction is determined using a formula pegged to voting age population and other demographic data. There is no matching requirement for the grant.

CTCL is a nonprofit that that describes itself as “a team of civic technologists, trainers, researchers, election administration and data experts working to foster a more informed and engaged democracy, and helping to modernize U.S. elections.”

The Troup County Elections office is already processing absentee ballot requests, sending out ballots and receiving completed ballots.

Those wishing to vote absentee by mail can request a ballot through the county elections office or through an online portal at https://ballotrequest.sos.ga.gov/.

Absentee ballots must be sent through the mail or dropped into one of Troup’s three ballot drop boxes. There is one in LaGrange at the Troup County Government Center, one at the Hogansville Police Department and one at West Point City Hall. Absentee ballots must be received by election day, so provide ample time if mailing one.