The following CNN.com report is over a week old and the gas shortage in the Atlanta, Georgia area has gotten worse! Last week, I did notice that in many gas stations, only one or two grades of gas were available. In the last two days, very few gas stations in the area where I live (in DeKalb County, just east of downtown Atlanta) have any gasoline at all. And the few that do will have long lines where you'll have to wait over 30 minutes before you can get to a pump.
On Sunday evening, I ventured out to fill my wife's car. My first stop was a QuickTrip that had a line wrapped around the building, by some estimates, it was at least an hour wait for gasoline. After driving around for 30 minutes I found a long line at a Shell station. I had to wait over 20 minutes in line and the only gas available was premium grade at $4.4999 per gallon.
This morning, I took my car out to get gas and the Shell station was out. After driving around for 45 minutes, I found a BP station with gas. A 30 minute wait and the only gas available was premium grade at $4.499 per gallon. It cost over $150 to fill both cars' tanks.
The following CNN iReporter called the governor's office about the gasoline shortage in Georgia:
The following CNN iReporter drove around for hours trying to find gas in the north Atlanta suburbs:
Read the CNN.com article from last week about the gasoline shortage in Atlanta here.
plez sez: woe is me! i wasn't driving during the gasoline shortage of the mid-70's, but remember riding around with my father trying to get gas for the family's Cadillac. it was frustrating with all the gas rations and stuff.
i would like to know when the problem (whatever the problem is) will be solved. i've heard that the refineries were damaged by hurricanes gustav and ike. i've heard the gas pipeline that runs through georgia was damaged by the hurricanes. i've heard the "shortage" really isn't a shortage, but just rationing in certain states. i've heard that the special gas that we use in georgia is in short supply, thus causing the shortage. and a week ago, i heard the issue would be resolved in a week!
i'm concerned for the public safety: the longer this goes on, the increased likelihood that someone is going to get hurt because of (a) traffic problems around gas stations, (b) high costs causing some to try illegal means of obtaining gasoline, or (c) random violence fueled by the long lines and frustration of trying to find a station that has gasoline for sale. today, a discourteous driver cut me off as i tried to make my way to the pump. instead of escalating the situation, i calmly moved to another pump... but everyone isn't as cool and clear headed as plezWorld!
we can only hope that this shortage clears up in the coming days.
This just in from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta’s second-largest bank, Wachovia Corp., will be sold to Citigroup in a deal facilitated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
The FDIC says Wachovia didn’t fail, and that all depositors are protected and there will be no cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund.
The sale of Wachovia Corp. comes just days after the government’s seizure of Seattle-based Washington Mutual Inc. — the largest bank failure in U.S. history.
Wachovia has been among the banks hardest hit by the ongoing crisis in the mortgage market. Its current problems stem largely from its acquisition of mortgage lender Golden West Financial Corp. in 2006 for roughly $25 billion at the height of the nation’s housing boom. With that purchase, Wachovia inherited a deteriorating $122 billion portfolio of Pick-A-Payment loans, Golden West’s specialty, which let borrowers skip some payments.
Read the AJC.com article about Wachovia's sale here.
Read the New York Times article about the Wachovia sale here.
Read the CNNMoney.com article about the Wachovia sale here.
plez sez: first, i have to give props to my friend Torrance over at Raw Dawg Buffalo... he called out the possibility of a Wachovia sale at least a week ago in a comment on plezWorld!
NOW... WTF! two years ago, the mortgage bubble was beginning to bust... who at wachovia thought it was a good idea to purchase a mortgage company that offered loans where borrowers could skip payments?!? that would've seemed like a risky investment in 4 years ago!
i've been with wachovia since i started college back in the early 80's (when it was First Atlanta)... i remember the first ATM machines were named "Tillie"! as a matter of fact, my current checking account is the same account i opened when i enrolled in college. it is hard to believe that things have gotten this bad. i wonder why Wachovia couldn't hold out on this sale until the bailout cash came available?
i'll be honest, plezWorld is not comfortable with this rash of bank failures and the overall contraction of the number of banks. at this current trend, we'll only be left with 2 or 3 large national banks (Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Citigroup)... i'm not an economist, but something tells me that this trend cannot be good for long term economic growth and business development in the united states when all of the financial resources are concentrated in the hands of the few (and when the Treasury Dept holds all of the cards on cash and credit).
The GOP House leadership has finally gotten on board and joined the Democratic House leadership in endorsing the hastily prepared Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 at the behest of President George W. Bush and the begging of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
The federal government would provide up to $700 billion in a far-reaching plan to rescue the nation's troubled financial system, according to a bill released by Democratic lawmakers. CNNMoney.com reports that House Minority Leader John Boehner cited "great improvement" in the bill and urged fellow Republicans to support it. Rep. Boehner led a weekend charge of House Republicans who opposed a previous version of the bill.
Read and download the full text version of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 at the House Committee on Financial Services page (~PDF VERSION~).
Read and download a pdf version summary of the "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008":
SUMMARY:
I. Stabilizing the Economy
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) provides up to $700 billion to the Secretary of the Treasury to buy mortgages and other assets that are clogging the balance sheets of financial institutions and making it difficult for working families, small businesses, and other companies to access credit, which is vital to a strong and stable economy. EESA also establishes a program that would allow companies to insure their troubled assets.
II. Homeownership Preservation
EESA requires the Treasury to modify troubled loans – many the result of predatory lending practices – wherever possible to help American families keep their homes. It also directs other federal agencies to modify loans that they own or control. Finally, it improves the HOPE for Homeowners program by expanding eligibility and increasing the tools available to the Department of Housing and Urban Development to help more families keep their homes.
III. Taxpayer Protection
Taxpayers should not be expected to pay for Wall Street’s mistakes. The legislation requires companies that sell some of their bad assets to the government to provide warrants so that taxpayers will benefit from any future growth these companies may experience as a result of participation in this program. The legislation also requires the President to submit legislation that would cover any losses to taxpayers resulting from this program from financial institutions.
IV. No Windfalls for Executives
Executives who made bad decisions should not be allowed to dump their bad assets on the government, and then walk away with millions of dollars in bonuses. In order to participate in this program, companies will lose certain tax benefits and, in some cases, must limit executive pay. In addition, the bill limits “golden parachutes” and requires that unearned bonuses be returned.
V. Strong Oversight
Rather than giving the Treasury all the funds at once, the legislation gives the Treasury $250 billion immediately, then requires the President to certify that additional funds are needed ($100 billion, then $350 billion subject to Congressional disapproval). The Treasury must report on the use of the funds and the progress in addressing the crisis. EESA also establishes an Oversight Board so that the Treasury cannot act in an arbitrary manner. It also establishes a special inspector general to protect against waste, fraud and abuse.
Read and download a pdf version of the section-by-section analysis of the "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008":
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION:
Section 1. Short Title.“Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.”
Section 2. Purposes. Provides authority to the Treasury Secretary to restore liquidity and stability to the U.S. financial system and to ensure the economic well-being of Americans.
Section 3. Definitions. Contains various definitions used under this Act.
Title I. Troubled Assets Relief Program. Section 101. Purchases of Troubled Assets. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a Troubled Asset Relief Program (“TARP”) to purchase troubled assets from financial institutions. Establishes an Office of Financial Stability within the Treasury Department to implement the TARP in consultation with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the FDIC, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Requires the Treasury Secretary to establish guidelines and policies to carry out the purposes of this Act. Includes provisions to prevent unjust enrichment by participants of the program.
Section 102. Insurance of Troubled Assets. If the Secretary establishes the TARP program, the Secretary is required to establish a program to guarantee troubled assets of financial institutions. The Secretary is required to establish risk-based premiums for such guarantees sufficient to cover anticipated claims. The Secretary must report to Congress on the establishment of the guarantee program.
Section 103. Considerations. In using authority under this Act, the Treasury Secretary is required to take a number of considerations into account, including the interests of taxpayers, minimizing the impact on the national debt, providing stability to the financial markets, preserving homeownership, the needs of all financial institutions regardless of size or other characteristics, and the needs of local communities. Requires the Secretary to examine the long-term viability of an institution in determining whether to directly purchase assets under the TARP.
Section 104. Financial Stability Oversight Board. This section establishes the Financial Stability Oversight Board to review and make recommendations regarding the exercise of authority under this Act. In addition, the Board must ensure that the policies implemented by the Secretary protect taxpayers, are in the economic interests of the United States, and are in accordance with this Act. The Board is comprised of the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Director of the Federal Home Finance Agency, the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Section 105. Reports. Monthly Reports: Within 60 days of the first exercise of authority under this Act and every month thereafter, the Secretary is required to report to Congress its activities under TARP, including detailed financial statements. Tranche Reports: For every $50 billion in assets purchased, the Secretary is required to report to Congress a detailed description of all transactions, a description of the pricing mechanisms used, and justifications for the financial terms of such transactions. Regulatory Modernization Report: Prior to April 30, 2009, the Secretary is required to submit a report to Congress on the current state of the financial markets, the effectiveness of the financial regulatory system, and to provide any recommendations.
Section 106. Rights; Management; Sale of Troubled Assets; Revenues and Sale Proceeds. Establishes the right of the Secretary to exercise authorities under this Act at any time. Provides the Secretary with the authority to manage troubled assets, including the ability to determine the terms and conditions associated with the disposition of troubled assets. Requires profits from the sale of troubled assets to be used to pay down the national debt.
Section 107. Contracting Procedures. Allows the Secretary to waive provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation where compelling circumstances make compliance contrary to the public interest. Such waivers must be reported to Congress within 7 days. If provisions related to minority contracting are waived, the Secretary must develop alternate procedures to ensure the inclusion of minority contractors. Allows the FDIC to be selected as an asset manager for residential mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities.
Section 108. Conflicts of Interest. The Secretary is required to issue regulations or guidelines to manage or prohibit conflicts of interest in the administration of the program.
Section 109. Foreclosure Mitigation Efforts. For mortgages and mortgage-backed securities acquired through TARP, the Secretary must implement a plan to mitigate foreclosures and to encourage servicers of mortgages to modify loans through Hope for Homeowners and other programs. Allows the Secretary to use loan guarantees and credit enhancement to avoid foreclosures. Requires the Secretary to coordinate with other federal entities that hold troubled assets in order to identify opportunities to modify loans, considering net present value to the taxpayer.
Section 110. Assistance to Homeowners. Requires federal entities that hold mortgages and mortgage-backed securities, including the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the FDIC, and the Federal Reserve to develop plans to minimize foreclosures. Requires federal entities to work with servicers to encourage loan modifications, considering net present value to the taxpayer.
Section 111. Executive Compensation and Corporate Governance. Provides that Treasury will promulgate executive compensation rules governing financial institutions that sell it troubled assets. Where Treasury buys assets directly, the institution must observe standards limiting incentives, allowing clawback and prohibiting golden parachutes. When Treasury buys assets at auction, an institution that has sold more than $300 million in assets is subject to additional taxes, including a 20% excise tax on golden parachute payments triggered by events other than retirement, and tax deduction limits for compensation limits above $500,000.
Section 112. Coordination With Foreign Authorities and Central Banks. Requires the Secretary to coordinate with foreign authorities and central banks to establish programs similar to TARP.
Section 113. Minimization of Long-Term Costs and Maximization of Benefits for Taxpayers. In order to cover losses and administrative costs, as well as to allow taxpayers to share in equity appreciation, requires that the Treasury receive non-voting warrants from participating financial institutions.
Section 114. Market Transparency. 48-hour Reporting Requirement: The Secretary is required, within 2 business days of exercising authority under this Act, to publicly disclose the details of any transaction.
Section 115. Graduated Authorization to Purchase. Authorizes the full $700 billion as requested by the Treasury Secretary for implementation of TARP. Allows the Secretary to immediately use up to $250 billion in authority under this Act. Upon a Presidential certification of need, the Secretary may access an additional $100 billion. The final $350 billion may be accessed if the President transmits a written report to Congress requesting such authority. The Secretary may use this additional authority unless within 15 days Congress passes a joint resolution of disapproval which may be considered on an expedited basis.
Section 116. Oversight and Audits. Requires the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct ongoing oversight of the activities and performance of TARP, and to report every 60 days to Congress. The Comptroller General is required to conduct an annual audit of TARP. In addition, TARP is required to establish and maintain an effective system of internal controls.
Section 117. Study and Report on Margin Authority. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study and report back to Congress on the role in which leverage and sudden deleveraging of financial institutions was a factor behind the current financial crisis.
Section 118. Funding. Provides for the authorization and appropriation of funds consistent with Section 115.
Section 119. Judicial Review and Related Matters. Provides standards for judicial review, including injunctive and other relief, to ensure that the actions of the Secretary are not arbitrary, capricious, or not in accordance with law.
Section 120. Termination of Authority. Provides that the authorities to purchase and guarantee assets terminate on December 31, 2009. The Secretary may extend the authority for an additional year upon certification of need to Congress.
Section 121. Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Establishes the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program to conduct, supervise, and coordinate audits and investigations of the actions undertaken by the Secretary under this Act. The Special Inspector General is required to submit a quarterly report to Congress summarizing its activities and the activities of the Secretary under this Act.
Section 122. Increase in the Statutory Limit on the Public Debt. Raises the debt ceiling from $10 trillion to $11.3 trillion.
Section 123. Credit Reform. Details the manner in which the legislation will be treated for budgetary purposes under the Federal Credit Reform Act.
Section 124. Hope for Homeowners Amendments. Strengthens the Hope for Homeowners program to increase eligibility and improve the tools available to prevent foreclosures.
Section 125. Congressional Oversight Panel. Establishes a Congressional Oversight Panel to review the state of the financial markets, the regulatory system, and the use of authority under TARP. The panel is required to report to Congress every 30 days and to submit a special report on regulatory reform 4 prior to January 20, 2009. The panel will consist of 5 outside experts appointed by the House and Senate Minority and Majority leadership.
Section 126. FDIC Enforcement Enhancement. Prohibits the misuse of the FDIC logo and name to falsely represent that deposits are insured. Strengthens enforcement by appropriate federal banking agencies, and allows the FDIC to take enforcement action against any person or institution where the banking agency has not acted.
Section 127. Cooperation With the FBI. Requires any federal financial regulatory agency to cooperate with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies investigating fraud, misrepresentation, and malfeasance with respect to development, advertising, and sale of financial products.
Section 128. Acceleration of Effective Date. Provides the Federal Reserve with the ability to pay interest on reserves.
Section 129. Disclosures on Exercise of Loan Authority. Requires the Federal Reserve to provide a detailed report to Congress, in an expedited manner, upon the use of its emergency lending authority under Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act.
Section 130. Technical Corrections. Makes technical corrections to the Truth in Lending Act.
Section 131. Exchange Stabilization Fund Reimbursement. Protects the Exchange Stabilization Fund from incurring any losses due to the temporary money market mutual fund guarantee by requiring the program created in this Act to reimburse the Fund. Prohibits any future use of the Fund for any guarantee program for the money market mutual fund industry.
Section 132. Authority to Suspend Mark-to-Market Accounting. Restates the Securities and Exchange Commission’s authority to suspend the application of Statement Number 157 of the Financial Accounting Standards Board if the SEC determines that it is in the public interest and protects investors.
Section 133. Study on Mark-to-Market Accounting. Requires the SEC, in consultation with the Federal Reserve and the Treasury, to conduct a study on mark-to-market accounting standards as provided in FAS 157, including its effects on balance sheets, impact on the quality of financial information, and other matters, and to report to Congress within 90 days on its findings.
Section 134. Recoupment. Requires that in 5 years, the President submit to the Congress a proposal that recoups from the financial industry any projected losses to the taxpayer.
Section 135. Preservation of Authority. Clarifies that nothing in this Act shall limit the authority of the Secretary or the Federal Reserve under any other provision of law.
Title II—Budget-Related Provisions Section 201. Information for Congressional Support Agencies. Requires that information used by the Treasury Secretary in connection with activities under this Act be made available to CBO and JCT.
Section 202. Reports by the Office of Management and Budget and the Congressional Budget Office. Requires CBO and OMB to report cost estimates and related information to Congress and the President regarding the authorities that the Secretary of the Treasury has exercised under the Act.
Section 203. Analysis in President’s Budget. Requires that the President include in his annual budget submission to the Congress certain analyses and estimates relating to costs incurred as a result of the Act; and
Section 204. Emergency Treatment. Specifies scoring of the Act for purposes of budget enforcement.
Title III—Tax Provisions Section 301. Gain or Loss From Sale or Exchange of Certain Preferred Stock. Details certain changes in the tax treatment of losses on the preferred stock of certain GSEs for financial institutions.
Section 302. Special Rules for Tax Treatment of Executive Compensation of Employers Participating in the Troubled Assets Relief Program. Applies limits on executive compensation and golden parachutes for certain executives of employers who participate in the auction program.
Section 303. Extension of Exclusion of Income From Discharge of Qualified Principal Residence Indebtedness. Extends current law tax forgiveness on the cancellation of mortgage debt.
Negotiations between the House, Senate, and Bush administration went on throughout Saturday night until Sunday afternoon, when an agreement was met. The Republican House members who had been holding out, seemed to signal that they were willing to support the 100-plus page bailout bill.
Read the CNN.com article about how Obama & McCain will support the bill here.
Read the CNNMoney.com article about Emergency Bailout Bill here.
Read the New York Times article about Emergency Bailout Bill here.
plez sez: it is what it is!
these wall street financial institutions were given the keys to the us economy and they ditched the bentley. now WE have to pay to drag that damn thing out of the mud. there is one consolation prize, those who are stuck with loans from predatory lenders may have the opportunity to have their mortgages re-financed.
plezWorld is more than just a little upset that those "fat cats" who profited from this mess over the past decade aren't made to pay some form of restitution for their scam. since the regular person going in to get a home financed doesn't have the background nor information to make a more informed decision, the "let the buyer beware" maxim doesn't fit here. those high risk sub-prime mortgages were a "get rich quick" scheme gone awry and has left the us economy in near ruins... i stand by my contention that a whole bunch of someone's should be serving some jail time (along with a liquidation of their personal assets to help pay for this bailout)!
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BLOG UPDATE - 09/29/2008 6:00 PM - The House of Representatives voted 228-205 to reject a $700 billion rescue of the financial industry. This vote was followed closely by the biggest one day drop in the Dow Jones - 777 points. (read more here and here)
Like Moses descending from Mount Sinai with the stone tablets that would lay down the law to save humanity, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that Congressional leaders and the Bush administration had reached a tentative agreement on a bailout of those financial markets that are on the brink of collapse.
CNN.com reports that the House could vote on it on Sunday and the Senate on Monday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the accord just after midnight Saturday and said it still has to be put on paper.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson talked of finalizing the deal but added: "I think we're there."
The aim of the deal is to prevent credit from drying up and causing a meltdown of the U.S. economy.
Read the New York Times article about the tentative bailout agreement here.
Read the CNN.com article about Congressional bailout agreement here and here.
Read the Atlanta Journal-Constitution article about the tentative bailout agreement here.
plez sez: in their haste to respond the clarion call by president bush, it seems that the congress has forgotten that all of us are going to have to pay for this bailout... it would be nice for the citizens of the us to have an opportunity to review and critique this "agreement" BEFORE it is voted on by the house.
a few days ago, i expressed some concerns (here) about this bailout package. methinks that plezWorld needs to give his congressman a call on sunday... i strongly urge you to call yours.
The debate that almost wasn't came off without a hitch on Friday night. Sen. John McCain had threatened to boycott the debate in favor of staying in Washington, DC until the details of the bailout plan were complete. When Sen. Barack Obama called his bluff and made plans to be in Oxford, Mississippi for the debate, McCain hightailed it down south this afternoon to meet the challenge.
High expectations greeted Barack Obama... would he do better than he had done against the innumerable debates against Sen. Hillary Clinton? would he be able to connect with a general election crowd, rather than the purely Democratic audiences from the primaries? would he be able to succinctly enunciate his views and plans for his presidency? would he be able to command a grasp of foreign affairs, the light-in-the-pants area of his albeit thin resume? would he be able to hold his own against the mix-it-up style of John McCain?
The expectations for John McCain were markedly lower since he had seemingly abandoned his campaign 72 hours ago in favor of "working" on the economy in Washington, DC. Since his strong suit was foreign affairs and the planned discussion at this debate was foreign affairs, he would be "in his element." And it is believed that he is a stronger debater than Obama, so combined with his experience and the relatively low expectations for his appearance, he seemingly had the upper hand.
The debate opened on the global economy and Jim Lehrer (the moderator) seemed perplexed as to how to rev up the energy and get these two guys engaged. There were tepid jabs, but no direct shots. The moderator practically had to beg them to ask questions of one another.
Things warmed up considerably when they went into the area of foreign policy and the War in Iraq. See excerpts of the debate coverage from CNN.com below:
During the first 30 minutes of the debate, the candidates focused on the economy, even though the debate was supposed to be centered on foreign policy.
For a while, it seemed like the debate might not even take place because McCain said he would not show up unless Congress came to an agreement on the government's proposed $700 billion bailout plan.
McCain said Friday that enough progress has been made for him to attend the debate, even though Congress has not made a deal.
Here's a snapshot of what the candidates said.
On government spending:
McCain said he would consider a spending freeze on everything but defense, veterans affairs and entitlement programs in order to cut back on government spending.
Obama disagreed, saying, "The problem is you're using a hatchet where you need a scalpel.
"There are some programs that are very important that are currently underfunded," Obama said.
He agreed that the government needs to cut spending in some areas, but he said other areas, such as early childhood education, need more funding.
McCain repeated his call to veto every bill with earmarks. Watch the candidates spar over earmarks »
Obama said the country "absolutely" needs earmark reform but said, "the fact is, eliminating earmarks alone is not a recipe for how we are going to get the middle class back on track."
On the bailout proposal:
Obama said that the United States was facing its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
McCain said he was encouraged that Republicans and Democrats were working together to solve the crisis.
Obama refused to be pinned down on whether he would support a $700 billion plan proposed by President Bush's top economic advisers, saying the final details of the proposal were not yet known.
McCain said he hoped to be able to vote for it.
On the likelihood of another terrorist attack:
McCain that another attack on the scale of the September 11 hijackings is "much less likely" now than it was the day after the terrorist attacks.
"America is safer now than it was on 9/11," he said, "But we have a long way to go before we can declare America safe."
Obama agreed that the United States is "safer in some ways" but said the country needed to focus more on issues such as nuclear non-proliferation and restoring America's image in the world.
On relations with Russia:
Obama called for a re-evaluation of the United States' approach to Russia in light of the country's recent military action in the Caucasus.
"You cannot be a 21st-century superpower and act like a 20th-century dictatorship," he said.
McCain accused Obama of responding naively to Russia's invasion of neighboring Georgia last month by calling on both sides to exercise restraint.
McCain said he would support the inclusion of Georgia and Ukraine in NATO.
On Iran:
McCain said Iranian nuclear weapons would be an "existential threat to the state of Israel" and would encourage other countries in the Middle East to seek nuclear weapons as well.
"We cannot allow another Holocaust," he said.
Obama agreed that the United States "cannot tolerate a nuclear Iran," calling for tougher sanctions from a range of countries including Russia and China.
McCain called for a new "league of democracies" to stand firm against Iran.
On Iraq:
McCain said the next president will have to decide when and how to leave Iraq and what the United States will leave behind.
The Republican candidate said that the war had been badly managed at the beginning but that the United States was now winning, thanks to a "great general and a strategy that succeeded."
"Sen. Obama refuses to acknowledge that we are winning in Iraq," McCain said.
Obama responded, "That's not true; that's not true."
He blasted McCain as having been wrong about the war at the start, saying McCain had failed to anticipate the uprising against U.S. forces and violence between rival religious groups in the country. Watch Obama tell McCain he was 'wrong' »
"At the time when the war started, you said it was quick and easy. You said we knew where the weapons of mass destruction were," Obama said, citing the key White House policy justifying the 2003 invasion.
"You were wrong. You said that we were going to be greeted as liberators. You were wrong," he said.
Read the entire CNN.com wrapup of the debate here and here.
Read the debate wrapup in the New York Timeshere and here.
Read the Baltimore Sun article about the Obama-McCain debate here.
Read the Washington Post article about the Obama-McCain debate here.
Read about Chris Rock talking politics on Larry King Livehere.
plez sez: ninety minutes later and if you were an Obama supporter, you probably thought he won, and if you were a mccain supporter, you probably thought he won!
that's how close it was. whatever drew you to Obama as your candidate of choice was on full display this evening... cool, calm, calculated, cerebral, and pragmatic.
if you were impressed with mccain as a candidate, he would not disappoint this evening, as both men stuck to their assigned scripts and delivered. the only real difference was that Obama was far more combative and assertive than he'd been against hillary clinton. and Obama spoke with a certainty and clarity that had not been on display in previous debates during the primary season.
if you are an undecided voter... i cannot see anything tonight that would've swayed your perspective on either candidate, since nothing new was revealed, except Barack Obama has a far greater grasp of foreign affairs than most of the media gives him credit for. but if you are still undecided in late September (after more than 19 months of campaigning), then Obama's display of intelligence and approach to issues won't be a deciding factor in who you'll vote for... your decision will probably lean on something much more basic.
it was technically a draw, which probably did little to change the views of voters around the country.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
it didn't escape the attention of plezWorld that for 90 minutes, John McCain never so much as glanced in Barack Obama's direction... he kept is eyes on either his talking points or the moderator! even when prompted to engage each other by the moderator, mccain refused to look Obama's way.
when they came out and shook hands, mccain couldn't look at Obama. after the debate, their wives came on stage and each couple went to opposite sides of the stage. after waving briefly, the Obama's - the class act that they are - walked hand-in-hand to the other side of the stage and exchanged pleasantries with the mccains. it appears that the mccains could've easily walked off stage without speaking!
this may be a hard fought political battle, but these two guys are colleagues in the US Senate... there is no need to be bitter and rude!
The title of the article in the LA Times is "Palin talks to Couric -- and if she's lucky, few are listening." The 2008 presidential campaign has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous... and this week has been a red letter week of McCain Camp Tomfoolery. From the quasi-suspension of the campaign, to the lack of leadership in the bailout negotiations, to the mealy-mouth waffling on whether he'll debate Obama on Friday, to the Sarah Palin interview with Katie Couric. This week was a Democrat's wet dream!
The LA Times article asserts that a global financial crisis and a not-quite-suspended presidential campaign dominated newspaper front pages and television reports over the last couple of days. Bad news for America. But good news for Sarah Palin. The economic crisis and John McCain's surprising response have drawn attention away from the Republican vice presidential nominee just as she has started to answer more pointed questions from the media.
Sarah Palin Interview with Katie Couric (CBS News) (Part 1 of 2)
Sarah Palin Interview with Katie Couric (CBS News) (Part 2 of 2)
Sarah Palin Interview with Katie Couric (CBS News) (Foreign Affairs)
Excerpts from the LA Times article:
In a 40-minute session with Couric that aired Wednesday and Thursday nights, the Alaska governor defended her puzzling claim that geographic proximity makes her some sort of expert on Russia; went nearly blank when queried about McCain's achievements as a big-business regulator; agreed America "may find itself" on the road to another Great Depression; and, promoting a troop surge in Afghanistan, casually suggested that it "will lead us to victory there, as it has proven to have done in Iraq."
The last statement couldn't help but conjure an image from 2003 -- President Bush beaming in that green flight suit before the infamous "Mission Accomplished" banner.
Palin's unblinking certitude gave way at other times in the interview to a striking imprecision, as when she struggled to respond to Couric's suggestion that the $700-billion bailout might be better funneled through middle-class families instead of Wall Street firms.
"That's why I say I, like every American I'm speaking with, we're ill about this position that we have been put in . . ." Palin began, before meandering off in fruitless pursuit of coherence.
But I'll let the governor speak for herself:
" . . . where it is the taxpayers looking to bail out. But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the healthcare reform that is needed to help shore up our economy. Um, helping, oh -- it's got to be all about job creation too. Shoring up our economy, and putting it back on the right track. So healthcare reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions, and tax relief for Americans, and trade, we've got to see trade as opportunity, not as a competitive, um, scary thing, but 1 in 5 jobs being created in the trade sector today. We've got to look at that as more opportunity. All of those things under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is a part of that."
That mind-bender prompted Couric to muse, almost charitably, on "The Early Show" that Palin is "not always responsive when asked questions, and sometimes does slip back to her talking points."
It didn't go much better for Palin when she tried to clarify the mystery of what her state's proximity to Russia has taught her about that nation. Anyone south of the Arctic Circle would have seen this question coming and had a ready answer. But seemingly not the governor.
"We have trade missions back and forth," Palin told Couric. "We, we do, it's very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia as Putin rears his head and comes into the airspace of the United States of America, where, where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there. They are right next to, to our state."
Certainly, Russia's prime minister, Vladimir Putin, has demonstrated his willingness to invade its small neighbors. But have I missed news of recent provocations by Russian bombers over Kiwalik or Aleknagik? And if Palin has been intensely interested in her neighbor across the Bering Strait, that also has escaped the reporters who follow her most closely.
In fact, a veteran reporter from her home state, Hal Bernton, reported in the Seattle Times this month how Russian politicians had sought more contact with Palin, but in vain. The governor cut funding and her office's participation, it seems, in the Northern Forum, which promotes relations between regional governments in the Northern Hemisphere.
But wait. Certainly the issue dominating the news would provide the governor with a respite from these maddening demands for, you know, facts.
With McCain now depicting himself as the doctor ready to deliver tough medicine to Wall Street, Couric asked Palin to explain what measures he had pushed in the past.
Palin raised McCain's support of revamped oversight for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two mortgage giants that are on life support. Fine.
But when the network anchor pressed for other examples, given that the Republican has been in Congress for nearly three decades, Palin came up blank.
"I'll try to find some" -- Palin smiled at Couric -- "and bring them to you."
Read the entire LA Times article about Sarah Palin's latest interview here.
Read the New York Times article about Sarah Palin's interview with Katie Couric here.
CNN.com reports about interferance with Troopergate probe here.
plez sez: this interview brings to mind that movie, "Clueless," as sarah palin channels her inner-cher horowitz.
this woman has no grasp on foreign relations ("...well, you know our next door neighbors are ... foreign countries"). she has no idea what's going on in iraq and afghanistan ("a surge so we can experience a victory like in iraq"). she doesn't even have a grasp on sen. john mccain's record in congress ("i'll try to find some and bring them to you"). she has no grasp on current financial crisis (she says she doesn't want to reward those who made bad decisions, like homeowners and predatory lenders). i'm beginning to think that sarah palin doesn't have a grasp on reality!
she has a decent grasp of her talking points, but any follow up leaves her with a clueless, moose-in-the-headlights look! she is good with beauty pageant generalities answers, but runs from facts like a roach from Raid!
i'm still wondering... what could sarah palin have possibly said to john mccain to make him think that she was the best thing for his ticket? personally, i don't think he listened to a word that woman said! she's got a slim figure, nice legs, and she apparently is a right-wing fanatic... the job's yours! he didn't think for one minute that this bimbo would have to answer a couple of questions by the press before the election!
this woman is such a poor choice, that if she were to drop out of the race (for "personal reasons") and john mccain picked a more informed and intellectual running mate, his poll rankings would probably shoot through the roof! as it stands now - with the economy in the tank and sarah palin continuing to display her ineptitude - Obama should win in November by a landslide.
President George W. Bush spoke of dire circumstances in his speech on Wednesday night (read about it here). He invited the congressional leadership (house leader and senate majority leader, and the minority leadership), as well as, Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama to the White House to summit on Thursday afternoon.
Prior to the meeting taking place, there were reports that an agreement had been reached. But during the meeting with the president, House Minority Leader John Boehner scuttled all progress with issues from conservative Republicans that negotiators thought had been settled. Boehner said that he needed more time to get agreement from House Republicans, a senior administration official said. Obama asked whether the House Republicans' proposals fit in with the four principles that the leadership had agreed on, but Boehner couldn't answer that, a Democratic source said.
Multiple sources said McCain didn't say much. Two Democratic leadership aides said he didn't speak until 43 minutes into the meeting.
The gist of the meeting, according to sources, was that these members "aren't there yet" on the plan the Senate Banking Committee worked out and say there needs to be greater protection for taxpayers. One Republican aide said that "not much has changed in the last 24 to 48 hours. I think it has to be pretty radically altered for House Republicans to support it."
This aide stressed, "at the end of the day, these members represent the people who sent them here, and the people who sent them here are so overwhelmingly opposed to this." This aide said the calls coming into GOP offices are 90 to 1 against the plan.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The Bush Administration Plan:
The Treasury will buy troubled assets from US-based financial institutions, with the primary target being mortgage-backed securities that have lost significant value because of foreclosures and declining home values
The governement will hold on to these assets until the markets improve, then the Treasury would then sell the assets and potentially earn a profit
The goal is that by taking the bad assets away from financial institutions will allow them to shore up their balance sheets and begin to lend money again
Obama's Conditions for Bailout:
Help the "millions of families facing foreclosure" and not just Wall Street ("help Main Street as well as Wall Street")
Create an "independent, bipartisan board to ensure accountability and complete transparency"
Have Wall Street repay taxpauers for the bailout
Have an independent, bipartisan board to oversee the bailout
"This plan cannot be a welfare program for CEOs who greed and irresponsibility has contributed to this crisis."
McCain's Recommendations for the Bailout Plan:
Allow for greater accountability, including a bipartisan board to "provide oversight of the rescue"
Help for taxpayers to recover the $700 billion
Complete transparency in regards to crafting and implementation of any legislation
Cap on executive pay for companies getting federal help
Ban on earmarks and pork barrel legislation added to this plan
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
In a related story, JPMorgan Chase acquired the banking assets of Washington Mutual (WaMu) in a fire sale late Thursday after the troubled thrift was seized by federal regulators, marking the biggest bank failure in the nation's history and the latest stunning development in the ongoing credit crisis.
Under the deal, JPMorgan Chase will acquire all the banking operations of WaMu, including $307 billion in assets and $188 billion in deposits for a payment of $1.9 to Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Separately, JPMorgan announced plans to raise $8 billion in additional capital through the sale of stock as part of the deal. Earlier this year, JPMorgan Chase acquired Bear Stearns.
Read what my friend over at Raw Dawg Buffalo wrote about this economic mess here.
Read the CNN.com article about Congress's efforts to get a bailout bill to the President here.
Read the CNN.com article about the contentious White House Meeting that included Obama & McCain here.
Read the CNNMoney.com article about how a deal draws closer here.
Read the New York Times article about how things fared at the White House with Obama & McCain here.
Read the CNNMoney.com article the JPMorgan purchase of WaMu here.
plez sez: so, john mccain suspended his campaign so that he could hang out at the white house and barely participate in the negotiations! he sits in a "contentious meeting" that is scuttled by his party for 43 minutes with no input, no leadership? isn't that reason why he was back in washington, to provide his leadership to this cause?
or was his campaign suspension a ploy for support from his base? or is he in cahoots with the fringe of his party in a backhanded attempt to scuttle these negotiations until the time for this debate passes? would john mccain go to such lengths to avoid debating barack obama? would john mccain go to such lengths to avoid having sarah palin debate joe biden? we'll all know the answer to these questions if he backs out of the debate on friday evening because of this "financial crisis" that he has done nothing to fix!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
it's funny that wall street perked up (jumping close to 200 points) when word was leaked that an agreement in principle had been reached. i wonder what will happen when the markets open on friday when it appears that some republicans have torpedoed the agreement with eleventh hour demands that will preclude an agreement before the weekend.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
believe it or not, plezWorld isn't a big advocate for welfare. i don't agree with it for poor people. and i am certainly against spending taxpayer money to prop up rich folk. but in the interest of the public good and the avoidance of a financial catastrophe, i think we can spare a trillion dollars!
but this money should be attached to strings. those "fat cats" on wall street, yeah, the ones who basically pimped and embezzeled the deregulated financial markets for personal gain over the past 2 decades while the economy tanked should be looking at some severe punitive action for their malfeasance. a whole bunch of new asses need to be preparing for a 5- to 10-year sentence in the nearest penitentiary (i heard Sing Sing has a few open beds)!
to be honest, if 100 CEO's and CFO's and C-insert_letter_here-O's made their way into the united states penal system as collateral for this big ass welfare check for wall street (700 billion bills), instead of their usual golden parachutes... i'd be one happy camper. plezWorld would be first to call and congratulate his congressman for growing a pair!
this bailout should be painful (jail time, selling off of personal assets, confiscation of houses, jewelry, off-shore property, and cars, liquidation of trust funds, etc.). the fat cats on wall street should be shaking in their boots at the thought that the Feds were gonna come bail them out. and if this bailout was painful enough, it would be a LONG TIME before some *ISH* like this was ever permitted to happened again!
This morning, after dropping the SugarPlum off at school, plezWorld took advantage of advance voting in Georgia. I have cast my vote for the November 4th presidential election.
The Elections Office in DeKalb County was nearly full. There were 25 voting machines set up and all of them were in use, but the wait was only a few minutes. I can see the lines getting a little longer as the day goes on.
If you live in the State of Georgia, you can vote early from today through October 31st. To my way of thinking, more than a Right, it is your Responsibility as a citizen to vote!
Click here to find the nearest early voting location in your county.
McCain's Colorado campaign director Tom Kise inadvertently sent out the campaign's internal talking points regarding the suspension of the campaign to the media.
What follows is the entire memo - TALKING POINTS: SUSPENDING THE CAMPAIGN:
Tom Kise Regional Communications Director - South Central Region John McCain '08 Email: tkise@mccain08hq.com Cell: (303) 885-8915 Direct Dial: (303) 952-4696 Press Office: (703) 650-5550
Please do not proactively reach out to the media on this.
TALKING POINTS: SUSPENDING THE CAMPAIGN Topline Messaging:
To address our nation's financial crisis, John McCain will suspend his campaign and return to Washington. He has spoken to Senator Obama and informed him of his decision and has asked Senator Obama to join him. The campaign is suspending its advertising and fundraising.
John McCain is calling on the President to convene a meeting with the leadership from both houses of Congress, including himself and Senator Obama.
John McCain is directing his campaign to work with the Obama campaign and the commission on presidential debates to delay Friday night's debate until action has been taken to address this crisis.
It is time for both parties to come together to solve this problem. This is a time to put our country first. We must meet as Americans, not as Democrats or Republicans, and we must meet until this crisis is resolved.
It has become clear that no consensus has developed to support the Administration's proposal. He does not believe that the plan on the table will pass as it currently stands, and we are running out of time.
Last Friday, John McCain laid out his proposal and has discussed his priorities and concerns with the bill the Administration has put forward.
America faces an historic crisis in our financial system, and we must pass legislation to address this crisis. If we do not, credit will dry up, with devastating consequences for our economy.
John McCain is confident that before the markets open on Monday we can achieve consensus on legislation that will stabilize our financial markets, protect taxpayers and homeowners, and earn the confidence of the American people.
After agreeing to issue a joint statement with Sen. Barack Obama on the economic crisis, Sen. John McCain issued a unilateral suspension of his campaign and called for a postponement of Friday's debate. He makes a case for returning to Washington, DC to work with party leaders to come up with an Economic Bailout Plan.
McCain is dealing with sagging numbers at the polls, lack of traction with his lack of a message, loss of Palin's luster, and being a member of party of the most unpopular president in recent memory. It is in McCain's best interest to divert attention away from the presidential race to the economic "crisis."
What follows is the text of McCain's statement suspending his campaign:
MCCAIN SUSPENDS CAMPAIGN TO FOCUS ON ECONOMY; WANTS DEBATE DELAY
America this week faces an historic crisis in our financial system. We must pass legislation to address this crisis. If we do not, credit will dry up, with devastating consequences for our economy. People will no longer be able to buy homes and their life savings will be at stake. Businesses will not have enough money to pay their employees. If we do not act, ever corner of our country will be impacted. We cannot allow this to happen.
Last Friday, I laid out my proposal and I have since discussed my priorities and concerns with the bill the Administration has put forward. Senator Obama has expressed his priorities and concerns.This morning, I met with a group of economic advisers to talk about the proposal on the table and the steps that we should take going forward.I have also spoken with members of Congress to hear their perspective.
It has become clear that no consensus has developed to support the Administration' proposal. I do not believe that the plan on the table will pass as it currently stands, and we are running out of time.
Tomorrow morning, I will suspend my campaign and return to Washington after speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative. I have spoken to Senator Obama and informed him of my decision and have asked him to join me.
I am calling on the President to convene a meeting with the leadership from both houses of Congress, including Senator Obama and myself. It is time for both parties to come together to solve this problem.
We must meet as Americans, not as Democrats or Republicans, and we must meet until this crisis is resolved.I am directing my campaign to work with the Obama campaign and the commission on presidential debates to delay Friday night's debate until we have taken action to address this crisis.
I am confident that before the markets open on Monday we can achieve consensus on legislation that will stabilize our financial markets, protect taxpayers and homeowners, and earn the confidence of the American people. All we must do to achieve this is temporarily set politics aside, and I am committed to doing so.
Following September 11th, our national leaders came together at a time of crisis. We must show that kind of patriotism now. Americans across our country lament the fact that partisan divisions in Washington have prevented us from addressing our national challenges. Now is our chance to come together to prove that Washington is once again capable of leading this country.
John McCain Campaign Suspension Chronology:
The Fed and Treasury Secretary propose a $700 billion bailout of Wall Street to reduce the chance of an economic meltdown in the US
Barack Obama calls John McCain on Wednesday morning to suggest that they work together to release a bipartisan joint statement as a sign of leadership on the economic bailout
John McCain agrees on the joint statement, but calls Obama later in day to say that he is considering suspending his campaign (and asks Obama to do the same)
Barack Obama suggests that they concentrate on releasing the joint statement and they can discuss the campaign later
Without notifying the Obama campaign, John McCain releases a statement that he will suspend his campaign and return to Washington, DC to work on the bailout bill... and oh yeah, he doesn't plan to be in Mississippi on Friday for the planned debate if there is no bailout bill by Friday!
Obama still wants a bipartisan statement and offers to help congressional leaders, but doesn't see need to suspend campaign
Obama wants to keep the debate on Friday evening ("...as President, you will need to handle more than one crisis at a time.")
Obama Speaks About the Economic Crisis:
Obama Wants To Debate:
Read the CNN.com article about John McCain's suspended campaign here.
Read the CNN.com article about the chronology of how McCain suspended his campaign here.
Read the CNN.com article about Obama & McCain accepting an invitation to visit the White House to meet with President George W. Bush here.
Read the CNN.com article about progress being made on bailout bill here.
plez sez: a few sports analogies:
Track - Barack Obama is pulling away from john mccain down the stretch, so mccain collapses onto the track grabbing the back of his thigh complaining of a tweaked hamstring.
Boxing - Obama is landing body blow after body blow, so john mccain takes a knee and pleads for a standing 8 count.
Football - the clock is running out on the game, mccain is down by 2 scores, so he calls a "time out."
mccain agrees to release a joint statement with Obama, and then submarines him by suspending his campaign prior to the release of the joint statement.
john mccain cannot be trusted. this move reeks of desperation politics on the part of john mccain. by his own admission, mccain is not economic powerhouse, he brings NOTHING to the table in setting up the bailout plan, all congress needs is his vote! there is no reason for him to return to washington except to move the campaign to the back burner to slow Obama's surge in the polls... PERIOD! and he knows that his lack of credibility will not stand the scrutiny of a debate in two days, so he calls for a "time out."
mccain cancelled george bush's appearance at the republican national convention citing hurricane gustav (they did accept a videotaped speech from the president)
mccain has kept sarah palin under wraps for a month in hopes that the press doesn't get a chance to scrutinize her (in one month, she has been had TWO interviews with the press)
now...mccain wants to cancel the debate so that he doesn't have to face any scrutiny (he will hide out in washington for the next couple of days)
we keep getting evidence that john mccain doesn't have the chops to stand up to challenges, nor does he have the good judgement necessary to be president.
Gov. Sarah Palin (AK-R) was in New York City on Tuesday to finally meet her first foreign leader - Afghan leader Hamid Karzai. And the press was given exactly 29 seconds to observe the event!
She also met with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. The press was given about 20 seconds to observe this meeting.
What follows are excerpts from the CNN.com article about the Palin-Karzai meeting:
McCain-Palin campaign officials shifted course Tuesday after being informed by television news organizations that they would not broadcast footage of Sarah Palin’s meeting with Afghan leader Hamid Karzai Tuesday in New York — the Republican VP nominee’s first with a foreign leader — if a reporter was not allowed in to observe the pair. CNN does not send cameras into candidate events where editorial presence is not allowed.
CNN, which was the pool network for the event, informed the campaign of its decision. The network was then told a CNN producer would be allowed in the room to act as a media representative, just minutes before the photo op was scheduled to take place. However, print reporters and wire services were not allowed to observe the meeting, as they have been able to do at similar McCain events in the past.
The press only caught a brief glimpse of the vice presidential nominee. Palin was seated in a large chair a few feet from Karzai, with a table in between them. Seated slightly behind Palin were campaign foreign policy advisers Steve Biegun and Randy Scheunemann, who are accompanying the governor in her motorcade today.
After 29 seconds observing the meeting, CNN and other photographers covering the meeting were escorted out of the room.
Later, McCain-Palin press representatives chalked up the restrictions to a “mix-up, a miscommunication among staff.” The full pool — a print and wires reporter, along with a television producer — was then allowed in to observe Palin’s meeting with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe for 15-20 seconds.
As a contrast, Sen. Barack Obama engaged in over 20 debates while he ran for president over the past 18 months and Sen. Joe Biden has had over 80 meetings with the press since he was announced as Obama's vice president nominee. Sarah Palin has given exactly TWO interviews with the press since she was announced!
Read the entire CNN.com article about the lack of press access to Sarah Palin's first meetings with foreign leaders here.
Read the entire CNN.com article about Sarah Palin's meetings with foreign leaders here.
plez sez: ...the farce continues. how dumb can you republicans be? how much McCain Kool-Aid can you people drink?
this woman is so sad, so uninformed, so un-wordly, so "out of it", such a friggin' hick, that the mccain camp can't trust her around the press for a minute. a friggin' minute! HELL, plezWorld could engage ANYONE for 10 to 15 minutes with a little briefing.
some honesty for you... if Barack Obama had pullled some Sarah Palin *ISH* like this, i swear, there is no way that i would able to vote for him. and if Obama even acted like he wanted to "throw caution to the wind" and pick someone in spite of his/her ineptitude, he wouldn't even be in the race!
the president is the leader of the free world, dammit! if john mccain wins, this inept woman would be in line to succeed the OLDEST man to ever assume the mantle of president. john mccain's decision to pick this woman is affront to ALL americans, because in the unlikely event that he wins, he will be the president of all americans. we deserve much better.
on the other hand, this is disrespectful of sarah palin to parade her around like this, when every man, woman, and child who takes a hard look at this woman will see that she AIN'T ready to be john mccain's backup.
if this "little game" by the mccain camp around these meetings with foreign leaders doesn't scare you about mccain's decision making ability, then i don't know what will!
In addition to Georgia, states like Kentucky, South Carolina, Virginia, Colorado, Nevada, Tennessee, and Arizona have advance voting. CNN.com reports that upwards of a third of the electorate will vote early this year, with some states with as many as 50 percent voting early.
With advance voting you may choose to vote in person before Election Day simply as a matter of convenience. In the State of Georgia, advance voting allows any registered voter to cast a ballot IN PERSON from Monday, September 22 until Friday, October 31, the week prior to an election.
At the advance voting office, you must fill out an application and provide one of the permitted forms of identification. You will then be issued a ballot that must be filled out and cast while you are in the office.
Please note that you cannot vote on the day immediately preceding the Tuesday election. Traditional polling places will be open on Election Day. However, if you choose to advance vote you cannot cast another ballot at your precinct on Election Day.
Advance Voting Locations in Georgia (by county, in alphabetical order)
Appling
September 22 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm Appling County Board of Registrar Office, Suite 205 (2nd Floor Annex): 69 Tippins Street, Baxley, GA 912-367-5376
Atkinson
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm County Courthouse: 19 Roberts Avenue West, Pearson, GA 31642 912-422-3552
Bacon
September 22 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm 232 West 12th Street, Alma, GA 31510 912-632-5551
Baker
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 4:30pm Baker County Courthouse, Commissioners Chamber: 167 Baker Place, Newton, GA 39870 229-734-3010
Baldwin
September 22 - October 24 M-F 8:30am - 5:00pm Baldwin County Courthouse, Hearing Room 104: 121 North Wilkinson Street,Milledgeville, GA 478-445-4526
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:30-7:00pm Registrar's Office, Room 102: 121 North Wilkinson Street, Milledgeville, GA 478-445-4526
Banks
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Banks County Annex Building, Registrar's Office: 150 Hudson Ridge, Homer, GA 706-677-6260
Barrow
September 22 - October 24 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm & October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 7:00pm County Administration Building: 233 East Broad Street, Winder, GA 770-307-3110
Bartow
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Cartersville Civic Center: 435 West Main Street, Cartersville, GA 770-387-5098
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Bartow County Registration: 105 North Bartow Street, Cartersville, GA 770-387-5098
Ben Hill
September 22 - October 31 M-F 7:30am - 4:00pm Elections Office: 324B East Pine Street, Fitzgerald, GA 31750 229-426-5151
Berrien
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 4:30pm County Registrar's Office: 205 A North Jefferson, Nashville, GA 229-686-5215
Bibb
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 5:30pm Office Depot Plaza: 2445 Pio Nono Avenue, Macon, GA 478-621-6622
Bleckley
September 22 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm Voter Registrar's Office 2nd Floor: 112 North Second Street, Cochran, GA 478-934-3212
Brantley
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Board of Elections and Registration Office Complex: 104 Allen Street, Brantley, GA 912-462-6159
Brooks
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 4:30pm Administration Building (Old National Guard Armory) 610 South Highland Street,Quitman, GA 31643 229-263-5556
Bryan
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Courthouse Annex: 9930 Ford Avenue, Richmond Hill, GA 31324 912-653-3859
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Voter Registration Office at Bryan County Courthouse: 151 South College Street, Pembroke, GA 31321 912-653-3859
Bulloch
September 22 - October 24 M-F 8:30am - 12:30pm, 1:30pm - 5:00 pm October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 5:00pm Bulloch County Courthouse, Room 104: 2 North Main Street, Statesboro, GA 912-764-6502
Burke
September 22 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm Burke County Courthouse Room 104: 602 North Liberty Street, Waynesboro, GA 706-554-7457
Butts
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Butts County Board of Elections , Administration Building, Suite 5: 625 West 3rd Street, Jackson, GA 30233 770-775-8202
Calhoun
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Calhoun County Courthouse: 31 Court Street, Morgan, GA 39866 229-849-2972
Camden
September 22 - October 24 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm October 27 - October 31 M-F 7:00am - 7:00pm Registrar's Office: 208 East 4th Street, Woodbine, GA 912-576-3245
October 27 - October 31 M-F 7:00am - 7:00pm 311 S. East Street Kingsland, GA. 31548 912-576-3245
Candler
September 22 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm Community Center: 435 North Rountree Street, Metter, GA 912-685-6687
Carroll
September 22 - October 24 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 7:00pm Carroll County Board of Elections and Registration, Lower Level: 423 College Street, Carrollton, GA 30117 770-830-5823/4
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 7:00pm Powell Park Art Center: 424 Leslie Drive, Villa Rica, GA 30180 770-830-5823/4
Catoosa
September 22 - October 24 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 7:00pm Catoosa Hall: 7658 Nashville Street, Ringgold, GA 706-935-3990
Charlton
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Charlton County Courthouse: 100 South 3rd Street, Folkston, GA 912-496-2549
Chatham
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Voter Registration Office, Suite E: 1117 East Eisenhower Drive, Savannah, GA 31406 912-790-1520
September 22 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 4:00pm Savannah Civic Center: 301 West Oglethorpe Avenue, Savannah, GA 31401 912-790-1520
September 22 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 4:00pm Mosquito Control: 65 Billy Hair Dr (Formerly - Short Dr) 912-790-1520
Chattahoochee
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Voter Registrar's Office: 377 Board Street, Cusseta, GA 706-989-2014
Chattooga
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 4:30pm Chattooga County Courthouse, Registrar's Office: 10017 Commerce Street, Summerville, GA 30747 706-857-0739
Cherokee
September 22 - October 24 M-F 8:30am - 7:00pm Cherokee County Elections and Registration Office: 400 East Main Street, Canton, GA 30114 770-479-0407
September 22 - October 24 M-F 8:30am - 7:00pm Ball Ground Public Library: 435 Old Canton Road, Ball Ground, GA 770-479-0407
September 22 - October 24 M-F 8:30am - 7:00pm Woodstock Public Library: 7735 Main Street, Woodstock, GA 30188 770-479-0407
September 22 - October 24 M-F 8:30am - 7:00pm Rose Creek Library: 4476 Towne Lake Parkway Woodstock, GA. 30189 770-479-0407
September 22 - October 24 M-F 8:30am - 7:00pm Hickory Flat Public Library: 2740 East Cherokee Drive, Canton, GA 30115 770-479-0407
Clarke
September 22 - October 24 M-F 8:30am - 5:00pm Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections: 155 East Washington Street, Athens, GA 30601 706-613-3150
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm The Classic Center: 300 N. Thomas Street, Athens, GA 30601 706-613-3150
Clay
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 4:30pm County Courthouse: 210 South Washington Street, Fort Gaines, GA 229-768-2000
Clayton
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 7:00pm Elections & Registration: 121 S. McDonough Street, Jonesboro, GA 30236 770-477-3372
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 7:00pm Morrow Municipal Complex, Community Room: 1500 Morrow Road, Morrow, GA 30260 770-477-3372
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 7:00pm Lee Headquarters Library: 865 Battle Creek Road, Jonesboro, GA 30236 770-477-3372
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 7:00pm Lovejoy Branch Library: 1721 McDonough Road, Hampton, GA 30338 770-477-3372
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 7:00pm Carl Rhodenizer Recreation Center: 3499 Rex Road, Rex, GA 30273 770-477-3372
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 7:00pm Frank Bailey Senior Center: 6213 Riverdale Road, Riverdale, GA 30274 770-477-3372
Clinch
September 22 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm Suite A: 25 Court Square, Homerville, GA 912-487-3656
Cobb
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Cobb Elections Main Office, West Park Government Center 736 Whitlock Avenue, Marietta, GA 30064 770-528-2581
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 6:00pm East Cobb Government Service Center: 4400 Lower Roswell Road, Marietta, GA 30068 770-528-2581
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 6:00pm South Cobb Government Service Center: 4700 Austell Road, Austell, GA 30106 770-528-2581
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 6:00pm Parks Western District Office (Lost Mountain Park): 4845 Dallas Highway, Powder Springs, GA 30127 770-528-2581
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 6:00pm North Cobb Senior Center (at Kennworth Park): 4100 Highway 293 (Old 41) Acworth, GA 30101 770-528-2581
Coffee
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 5:00pm County Courthouse, Jury Assembly Room at the Registrars Office: 101 South Peterson Avenue, Douglas, GA 31533 912-384-7018
Colquitt
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 4:30pm Courthouse Annex, Room 133: 101 East Central Avenue, Moultrie, GA 229-616-7056
Columbia
September 22 - October 24 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Columbia County Board of Elections, Building E: 500 Faircloth Drive, Evans, GA 30809 706-868-3355
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 6:00pm Columbia County Board of Elections, Building E: 500 Faircloth Drive, Evans, GA 30809 706-868-3355
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 6:00pm Patriots Park: 5445 Columbia Road, Grovetown, GA 30813 706-868-3355
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 6:00pm Savannah Rapids Pavilion: 3300 Evans to Locks Road, Martinez, GA. 706-868-3355
Cook
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 4:30pm Cook County Administration Building: 1200 South Hutchinson Avenue, Adel, GA 229-896-2266
Coweta
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 5:00pm, Every Saturday 9:00am - 12:00pm Coweta County Voter Registration Office: 22 East Broad Street, Newnan, GA 770-254-2615
Crawford
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 4:30pm Development Center, Room 14: 1011 US Highway 341 North, Roberta, GA 478-836-1877
Crisp
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Crisp County Courthouse: Registrar's Office Room 105 210 South 7th Street, Cordele, GA 31015 229-276-2611
October 24 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 4:30pm Ag Building/Courthouse Annex, 110 13th Avenue West, Cordele, GA 31015 229-276-2611
Dade
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 5:00pm Administration Building: 71 Case Ave., Trenton, GA 30752 706-657-8170
Dawson
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Dawson County Board of Elections & Restrations 462 Memory Lane, Suite 150, Dawsonville, GA 30534 706-344-3640
Decatur
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Courthouse Annex: 122 West Water Street, Bainbridge, GA 39817 229-243-2087
Dekalb
September 22 - October 24 M-F 8:00am - 7:00pm Memorial Drive Complex, Suite 300 (Across the street from the jail): 4380 Memorial Drive, Decatur, GA 30032 404-298-4020
October 27 - October 31 M-F 7:00am - 7:00pm Memorial Drive Complex, Suite 300 (Across the street from the jail): 4380 Memorial Drive, Decatur, GA 30032 404-298-4020
October 27 - October 31 M-F 7:00am - 7:00pm Decatur, Room A: 330 West Ponce deLeon Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030 404-298-4020
October 27 - October 31 M-F 7:00am - 7:00pm Lithonia: Lithonia Middle School 2451 Randall Avenue, Lithonia, GA 30058 404-298-4020
October 27 - October 31 M-F 7:00am - 7:00pm Northlake: DeKalb County Fire Headquarters: 1950 West Exchange Place, Tucker, GA 404-298-4020
October 27 - October 31 M-F 7:00am - 7:00pm North DeKalb: Brook Run: 4770 North Peachtree Road, Dunwoody, GA 30338 404-298-4020
October 27 - October 31 M-F 7:00am - 7:00pm South DeKalb Senior Center: 1931 Candler Road, Decatur, GA 30030 404-298-4020
Dodge
September 22 - October 24 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm Dodge County Registrar Office (Courthouse circle): 5401 Anson Avenue, Eastman, GA 478-374-8123
Dooly
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am-12:00pm, 1:00pm-5:00pm Dooly County Economic Development Training Center: 402 Hawkinsville Road, Vienna, GA 229-268-4228
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am-12:00pm, 1:00pm-5:00pm Dooly County Commissioners Office: 117 South Third Street, Vienna, GA 31092 229-268-4228
Dougherty
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 4:30pm Resource Center (Candy Room): 125 Pine Avenue, Albany, GA 31701 229-431-3247
Douglas
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Old Douglas County Courthouse: 6754 Church Street, Douglasville, GA 30134 770-920-7213
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Boundary Waters Aquatic Center: 5000 Georgia Highway 92, Douglasville, GA 30135 770-920-7213
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Deer Lick Park Recreation Center: 2105 Mack Road, Douglasville, GA 30135 770-920-7213
Early
October 24 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 4:30pm Registrar's Office: 15157 River Street, Blakely, GA 229-723-4522
Echols
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm County Courthouse, Tax Commissioners Office: 148 Church Of God Street, Statenville, GA 229-559-7526
Effingham
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 5:00pm Registrar's Office: 306 North Ash Street, Springfield, GA 912-754-2115
Elbert
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Board of Registrars, Room 42: 45 Forest Avenue, Elberton, GA 706-283-2012
Emanuel
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm 105 South Main Street, Swainsboro, GA 478-237-3471
Evans
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Evan's County Registrar's Office (#10 Courthouse Annex): 201 Freeman Street, Claxton, GA 912-739-0708
Fannin
September 22 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 4:00pm Suite 301: 400 West Main Street, Blue Ridge, GA 706-632-7740
Fayette
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:000pm Fayette County Elections Office, Suite 209: 140 Stonewall Avenue West, Fayetteville, GA 30215 770-305-5408
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Peachtree City Library: 15 Willowbend Road, Peachtree City, GA 30269 770-305-5408
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Fayette County Public Meeting Room: 140 Stonewall Avenue West, Fayetteville, GA. 30214 770-305-5408
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Tyrone Library: 143 Commerce Drive, Tyrone, GA 30290 770-487-1565
Floyd
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Administration Building 2nd Floor: 12 East 4th Avenue, Rome, GA 30161 706-291-5167
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Rome Civic Center: 400 Civic Center Drive, Rome, GA 30161 706-291-5168
Forsyth
October 27 - October 31 M-F 7:00am - 7:00pm Public Safety Complex: 3520 Settingdown Road, Cumming, GA 30028 770-781-2118
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 4:00pm Registrar's Office, Suite 200: 110 East Main Street Cumming, GA 770-781-2118
October 27 - October 31 M-F 7:00am - 7:00pm Midway Park: 5100 Post Road, Cumming, GA 30040 770-781-2118
October 27 - October 31 M-F 7:00am - 7:00pm Cumming Public Library: 585 Dahlonega Highway, Cumming, GA 30040 770-781-2118
October 27 - October 31 M-F 7:00am - 7:00pm Sharon Forks Library: 2820 Old Atlanta Road, Cumming, GA 30041 770-781-2118
Franklin
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 4:30pm Registrar's Office: 211 Athens Street, Carnesville, GA 30521 706-384-4390
Fulton
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Fulton County Government Center, Suite 4064: 141 Pryor Street, Atlanta, GA 30303 404-612-7072
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Fulton County Government South Service Center Room 105: 5600 Stonewall Tell Road, College Park, GA 404-612-7072
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm North Service Center, Suite 209: 7741 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs, GA 30350 404-612-7072
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 7:00pm Northeast Spruill Road: 9560 Spruill Road, Johns Creek, GA 404-612-7072
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 7:00pm Hembree Recreation Center: 850 Hembree Road, Roswell, GA 404-612-7072
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 7:00pm Welcome All Park: 4255 Will Lee Road, College Park, GA 404-612-7072
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 7:00pm Adamsville Recreation Center: 3201 Martin Luther King Jr., Drive SW, Atlanta, GA 404-612-7072
Gilmer
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 5:00pm Gilmer County Registrar office: 92 Sand Street, Ellijay, GA 706-635-4617
Glascock
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Voter Registration Office: 45 East Main Street, Gibson, GA 706-598-2811
Glynn
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Board of Elections Office: 1815 Gloucester Street, Brunswick, GA 912-554-7060
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Fire Administration Building: 121 Public Safety Boulevard Brunswick, GA 912-554-7060
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Fire Station #2: 1929 Demere Road, St. Simons Island, GA 912-554-7060
Gordon
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 5:00pm Courthhouse Annex: 101 South Piedmont Street, Calhoun, GA 30701 706-629-7781
Grady
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Grady County Registrar's Office: 114 1st Street Northeast, Cairo, GA 39828 229-377-1897
Greene
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am-12:00pm, 1:00pm-5:00pm Emergency Operations Training Room: 1180 C. Weldon Smith Drive, Greensboro, GA 706-453-1108
Gwinnett
September 22 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 4:30pm Voter Registration/Election Main Office, Suite 200: 455 Grayson Highway, Lawrenceville, GA 30045 678-226-7210
October 27 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 7:00pm Centerville Community Center: 3025 Bethany Church Road, Snellville, GA 30039 678-226-7210
October 27 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 7:00pm George Pierce Community Center: 55 Buford Highway, Suwanee, GA 30024 678-226-7210
October 27 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 7:00pm Dacula Activity Building: 2735 Old Auburn Road, Dacula, GA 30019 678-226-7210
October 27 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 7:00pm Singleton Road Activity Building: 5220 Singleton Road, Norcross, GA 30092 678-226-7210
Habersham
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Ruby Fulbright Aquatic Center: 120 Paul Franklin Road, Clarkesville, GA 706-754-4068
Hall
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm H all County Board of Elections & Voter Registratio, Suite 2: 2285 Browns Bridge Road, Gainesville, Georgia 30501 770-531-6945
Hancock
September 22 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 7:00pm Hancock County Courthouse: 12630 Broad Street, Sparta, GA 706-444-5259
Haralson
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 5:00pm Haralson County Courthouse: 4485 Highway 120, Buchanan, GA 30113 770-646-2010
Harris
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Courthouse Annex: 104 North College Street, Hamilton, GA 706-628-5210
Hart
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Hart County Board of Registrars: 165 West Franklin Street, Hartwell, GA 30643 706-376-8911
Heard
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 5:00pm Heard County Courthouse, Room 1: East Court Square, Franklin, GA 706-675-3907
Henry
September 22 - October 31 M-F 7:00am - 7:00pm Elections and Registration Office: 66 Veterans Drive, McDonough, GA 30253 770-954-2021
October 27 - October 31 M-F 7:00am - 7:00pm Fairview Area: Fairview Public Library: 28 Austin Road, Stockbridge, GA 30281 770-954-2021
October 27 - October 31 M-F 7:00am - 7:00pm Hampton: Berea Christian Church: 37 Woolsey Road, Hampton, GA 30228 770-954-2021
October 27 - October 31 M-F 7:00am - 7:00pm Locust Grove: Locust Grove Public Library 28 Austin Road, Stockbridge, GA 30281 770-954-2021
October 27 - October 31 M-F 7:00am - 7:00pm Stockbridge: Cochran Memorial Library 4602 N. Henry Blvd, Stockbridge, GA 30281 770-954-2021
Houston
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Board of Elections, Room 237: 801 Main Street, Perry, GA 31069 478-987-1973
October 20 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 4:30pm Houston County Annex (Lobby): 200 Carl Vinson Parkway, Warner Robins, GA 31088 478-987-1973
Irwin
September 22 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm Courthouse Annex: 207 South Irwin Street, Ocilla, GA 229-468-5894
Jackson
September 22 - October 24 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Administrative Building: 67 Athens Street, Jefferson, GA 706-367-6377
October 27 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 7:00pm Administrative Building: 67 Athens Street, Jefferson, GA 706-367-6377
October 27 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 7:00pm 204 Carson Street, Commerce, GA 30529 706-367-6377
October 27 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 7:00pm 5040 Highway 53, Braselton, GA 30517 706-367-6377
Jasper
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 4:00pm Registrar's Office, Ground floor of the Courthouse, Suite 3: 126 West Greene Street, Monticello, GA 706-468-4908
Jeff Davis
September 22 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm Jeff Davis County Courthouse, Room 107: 14 Jeff Davis Street, Hazlehurst GA 912-375-6635
Jefferson
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Registrar's Office: 302 East Broad Street, Louisville, GA 478-625-8357
Jenkins
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 5:00pm Jenkins County Courthouse: 611 East Winthrope Avenue, Millen, GA 478-982-3985
Johnson
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 4:30pm 6816 East College Street, Wrightsville, GA 31096 478-864-4019
Jones
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 5:00pm Jones County Government Center, Suite 102: 166 Industrial Boulevard, Gray, GA 31032 478-986-3222
Lamar
September 22 - October 24 M-F 8:00am - 12:30pm, 1:30pm - 5:00 pm Registrar's Office: 408 Thomaston Street, Barnesville, GA 30204 770-358-5235
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Registrar's Office: 408 Thomaston Street, Barnesville, GA 30204 770-358-5235
Lanier
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am-12:00pm, 1:00pm-5:00pm Registrars Office, Courthouse, Suite 8: 100 Main Street, Lakeland, GA 31635 229-482-8361
Laurens
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 5:00pm Courthouse Annex Building: 117 East Jackson Street, Dublin, GA 478-272-2841
Lee
September 22 - October 17 M-F 8:15am-5:00pm Lee County Courthouse: 100 Leslie Highway, Leesburg, GA 229-759-6002
October 20-October 31 M-F 8:15am - 5:00 pm Lee County Government Building: 109 Main Street, Leesburg, GA 229-759-6002
Liberty
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm 102 South Commerce Street, Hinesville, GA 912-876-3310
Lincoln
September 22 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm The Lincoln Center: 160 May Avenue, Lincolnton, GA 706-359-6126
Long
September 22 - October 24 M-F 8:30am - 4:30pm Long County Courthouse: 49 East McDonald Street, Ludowici, GA 912-545-2234
October 27 - October 31 M-F 10:00am - 6:00pm Long County Courthouse: 49 East McDonald Street, Ludowici, GA 912-545-2234
Lowndes
September 22 - October 24 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm 2808 North Oak Street, Valdosta, GA 31602 229-671-2850
October 27 - October 31 M-F 7:00am - 5:00pm 2808 North Oak Street, Valdosta, GA 31602 229-671-2850
Lumpkin
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Mountain Education Center Room 523: 123 Mountain View Drive, Dahlonega, GA 30533 706-864-6279
Macon
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Macon County Courthouse, Commissioners Meeting Room: 121 South Sumter Street, Oglethorpe, GA 478-472-8520
Madison
September 22 - October 24 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Registrar's Office: 91 Albany Avenue, Danielsville, GA 706-795-6335
October 27 -October 31 M-F 8:00am - 7:00pm Registrar's Office: 91 Albany Avenue, Danielsville, GA 706-795-6335
Marion
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 5:00pm Board of Elections: 113 North Broad Street, Buena Vista, GA 229-649-9838
McDuffie
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:30pm McDuffie County Elections Office:808 Whiteoak Road, Thomson, GA 706-595-2105
Saturday, October 4 & October 18, 9am - 12pm McDuffie County Elections Office:808 Whiteoak Road, Thomson, GA 706-595-2105
McIntosh
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 4:30pm 103 Jefferson Street, Darien, GA 912-437-6605
Meriwether
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 5:00pm 137 South Court Square, Greenville, GA 706-672-9433
Miller
September 22 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm Registrar's Office County Courthouse, Room 109: 155 South First Street, Colquitt, GA 229-758-4118
Mitchell
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 5:00pm County Courthouse, Registrar's Office: Camilla, GA 229-336-2016
Monroe
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 4:30pm Monroe County Board of Registrar's 560 S Lee St, Forsyth, GA 31029 478-994-7020
Montgomery
September 22 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm County Courthouse: 400 South Railroad Avenue, Mount Vernon, GA 30445 912-583-4296
Morgan
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 4:30pm 434 Hancock Street, Madison, GA 706-342-2508
Murray
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Courthouse Annex: 121 North 4th Avenue, Chatsworth, GA 706-695-1983
Muscogee
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 4:30pm Elections Office, Government Center: 100 10th Street, Columbus, GA 706-653-4392
October 27 - October 31 M-F 9:30am - 5:00pm Columbus Public Library: 3000 Macon Road, Columbus, GA 706-653-4392
October 27 - October 31 M-F 10:00am - 6:00pm Frank D. Chester Recreation Center: 1441 Benning Drive, Columbus GA 706-653-4392
October 27 - October 31 M-F 9:30am - 5:00pm Cunningham Center @ Columbus State University: 4225 University Avenue, Columbus GA 706-653-4392
October 27 - October 31 M-F 9:30am - 4:30pm Chattahooche Valley Regional Library: 3000 Macon Road, Columbus, GA 31906 706-243-2669
Newton
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 4:30pm Registrar Office, Suite 103: 1113 Usher Street, Covington, GA 30014 770-784-2055
Oconee
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Elections Office: 10 Court Street, Watkinsville, GA 30677 706-769-3958
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Oconee County Civic Center: 2661 Hog Mountain Road, Watkinsville, GA 30677 706-769-3958
Oglethorpe
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Oglethorpe County Courthouse, Registrar's Office: 111 West Main Street, Lexington, GA 706-743-8954
Paulding
September 22 - October 24 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Elections/ Voter Registration Office, Suite B: 120 East Memorial Drive, Dallas, GA 30132 770-443-7503
October 27 -October 31 M-F 8:00am - 7:00pm Elections/ Voter Registration Office, Suite B: 120 East Memorial Drive, Dallas, GA 30132 770-443-7503
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 7:00pm Hiram Community Center 217 Main Street, Hiram, GA 30141 770-443-7503
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 7:00pm Mt. Tabor Park 1550 E. Paulding Drive, Dallas, GA 30132 770-443-7503
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 7:00pm New Georgia Library 94 Ridge Road, Dallas, GA 30157 770-443-7503
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 7:00pm Russom Elementary School 40 Old Dallas Acworth Road, Dallas, GA 30132 770-443-7503
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 7:00pm Yorkville Fire Station 296 Crossroads Chuch Road, Rockmart, GA 30153 770-443-7503
Peach
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am-12:00pm, 1:00pm-5:00pm Peach County Courthouse Annex, Suite 102: 205 West Church Street, Fort Valley, GA 478-825-3514
Pickens
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Pickens County Elections Office, Suite 165: 1266 East Church Street, Japer, GA 30143 706-253-8781
Pierce
September 22 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm 312 Nichols Street, Suite 2, Blackshear, GA 31516 912-449-2028
Pike
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Pike County Courthouse: 16001 Barnesville Street, Zebulon, GA 30295 770-567-2003
Polk
September 22 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm Board of Elections and Registration, Suite D: 144 West Avenue, Cedartown, GA 30125 770-749-2103
October 27 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm Cedartown: Goodyear Civic Center: 100 Prior Street Cedartown, GA 770-749-2103
October 27 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm Rockmart City Hall: 200 South Marble Street, Rockmart, GA 30153 770-749-2103
Pulaski
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Courthouse Annex: 105 North Lumpkin Street, Hawkinsville, GA 478-783-0828
Putnam
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Putnam County Board of Education: 158 Old Glenwood Springs Road, Eatonton, GA 706-485-5441
Quitman
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Probate Office (Behind the Courthouse): 115 Main Street, Georgetown, GA 229-334-2224
Rabun
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Rabun County Courthouse, Break Room: 25 Courthouse Square, Clayton, GA 706-782-1878
Randolph
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Registrar Office: 2005 South Webster Street, Cuthbert, GA 229-732-5220
Richmond
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 6:00pm Board of Elections Office, Room 104: 530 Greene Street, Augusta, GA 30901 706-821-2340
October 24 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 6:00pm The Warren Road Recreation Center: 300 Warren Road, Augusta, GA 30907 706-821-2340
Rockdale
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 4:30pm 1400 Parker Road, Lobby C, Conyers, GA 770-785-5947
Schley S
eptember 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am-12:00pm, 1:00pm-5:00pm County Courthouse, Registrar's Office: 14 South Broad Street, Ellaville, GA 229-937-2689
Screven
September 22 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm Screven County Courthouse, Voter Registration Office, Room 114: 216 Mims Road, Sylvania, GA 30467 912-564-2153
Seminole
September 22 - October 24 M-F 9:00am - 12 pm, 1:00pm-5:00pm County Courthouse, Tax Commissioners Office: 200 South Knox Avenue, Donalsonville, GA 229-524-2238
October 27 -October 31 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm County Courthouse, Tax Commissioners Office: 200 South Knox Avenue, Donalsonville, GA 229-524-2238
Spalding
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Memorial Drive Plaza, Suite 819 Griffin, GA 30224 770-467-4245
Stephens
September 22 - October 24 M-F 9:00am - 12 pm, 1:00pm-5:00pm Stephens County Government Building, 1st Floor Meeting Room: 205 North Alexander Street, Toccoa, GA 706-886-8954
October 27 -October 31 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm Stephens County Government Building, 1st Floor Meeting Room: 205 North Alexander Street, Toccoa, GA 706-886-8954
Stewart
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 4:30pm 532 MLK Dr., Lumpkin, GA 229-838-4261
Sumter
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm County Courthouse, Registration Office: 500 West Lamar Street, Americus, GA 229-928-4580
Talbot
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Courthouse: 26 South Washington Avenue, Talbotton, GA 31827 706-665-8270
Taliaferro
September 22 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm Courthouse: 113 Monument Street, Crawfordville, GA 706-456-2229
Tattnall
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Tattnall County Board of Elections & Registration Office: 123 Jordan Street, Reidsville, GA 912-557-6417
Taylor
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Taylor County Government Complex: 7 Ivey Street, Butler, GA 478-862-3997
Telfair
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 4:30pm Temporary Location, Old Hospital Building: 210 East Parsonage Street, McRae, GA 229-868-2023
Terrell
September 22 - October 24 M-F 8:00am - 12 pm, 1:00pm-5:00pm Government Building, Board of Elections and Registration Office: 955 Forrester Drive S.E., Dawson, GA 229-995-5066
October 27 -October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Government Building, Board of Elections and Registration Office: 955 Forrester Drive S.E., Dawson, GA 229-995-5066
Thomas
September 22 - October 24 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Registrar's Office: 406 Smith Avenue, Thamsville, GA 229-225-4104
October 27 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Elijah Hill Building: 227 West Jefferson Street, Thomasville, GA
Tift
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Board of Elections and Registration Office: 222 Chestnut Avenue, Tifton, GA 229-386-7915
Toombs
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 5:00pm 125 W Lincoln Ave, Lyons, GA 912-526-8226
Towns
September 22 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 12:00pm, 1:00pm - 4:00pm Registrar Office, Towns County Old Rock Jail, Suite 30: 48 River Street, Hiawassee, GA 706-896-4353
Treutlen
September 22 - October 24 M-F 8:30am - 4:30pm Annex Building Lobby: 650 Second Street South, Soperton, GA 30457 912-529-3342
October 27 -October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Annex Building Lobby: 650 Second Street South, Soperton, GA 30457 912-529-3342
Troup
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Troup County Registrar Office: 100 Ridley Avenue, LaGrange, GA 706-883-1745
Turner
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Board of Elections Office: 1807 US Highway 41, S., Sycamore, GA 229-567-2909
Twiggs
September 22 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm County Courthouse, Room 123: 425 Railroad Street North, Jeffersonville, GA 478-945-3639
Union
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 4:30pm Union County Board of Registrar: 114 Courthouse Street, Blairsville, GA 706-439-6016
Upson
September 22 - October 24 M-F 8:30am - 4:30pm Drake Building: Board of Registration and Elections, Room 130: 305 S. Hightower Street, Thomaston, GA 706-647-6259
October 27 -October 31 M-F 8:30am - 5:00pm Drake Building: Board of Registration and Elections, Room 130: 305 S. Hightower Street, Thomaston, GA 706-647-6259
Walker
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 4:30pm Walker County Courthouse Room 110: 103 South Duke Street, LaFayette, GA 30728 706-638-4349
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 4:30pm Rossville Municipal Civic Center: 400 McrFarland Ave, Rossville, GA 30741 706-866-1325
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 4:30pm Chickamauga Civic Center: 100 Euclid Ave, Chickamauga, GA 30707 706-375-6943
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 4:30pm Lookout Mountain City Hall: 1214 Lula Lake Road, Lookout Mountain,GA 30750 706-820-1586
Walton
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 5:00pm Walton Elections: 303 S. Hammond Drive, Monroe, GA 30655 770-267-1337
Ware
September 22 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm Ware County Courthouse, Suite B68 800 Church Street, Waycross, GA 912-287-4363
Warren
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Warren County Board of Registrars Office, Community Services Bldg: 48 Warren Street, Warrenton, GA 30828 706-465-1993
Washington
September 22 - October 31 M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm Registrars Office: Couthouse: Room 108: 132 W. Haynes St., Sandersville GA. 31082 478-552-5239
Wayne
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:30am - 5:00pm Wayne County Courthouse: Registrar’s Office 174 North Brunswick Street, Jesup, GA 912-427-5950
Webster
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am-12:00pm, 12:30pm - 4:30pm Webster County Board of Elections and Registration: 6622 Cass Street, Preston, GA 31824 229-828-5775
Wheeler
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Tax Commissioner Office: 119 West Pearl Street, Alamo, GA 912-568-7131
White
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm White County Courhouse, Grand Jury Room: 59 South Main Street, Cleveland, GA 706-865-7812
Whitfield
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Registrar Office, Suite K: 205 N. Selvidge Street, Dalton, GA 30730 706-278-7183
Wilcox
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 4:00pm Wilcox County Registrar Office: 377 College St, Abbeville, GA 229-467-2111 or 2115
Wilkes
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Wilkes County Courthouse Room 323: 23 Court Street, Washington, GA 706-678-1850
Wilkinson
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Wilkinson County Courthouse: 100 Bacon Street, Irwinton, GA 478-946-2188
Worth
September 22 - October 31 M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm County Courthouse, Registration Office, Room 11: 201 North Main Street, Sylvester, GA 229-776-8208
Read the CNN.com article about early voting around the country here.
plez sez: Beat the rush, take advantage of advance (early) voting in Georgia for the November 4 election. Everyone you know will be trying to vote in this election cycle and there will be long lines in all precincts on Election Day.
~ husband ~ father ~ son ~ brother ~ mentor ~ subdivision dweller ~ northern by birth ~ southern by choice ~ raised a black baptist, now guided by the spiritual ~ raised a kennedy democrat, now politically dead center (moderate) ~ raised in a Cadillac Coupe Deville, now hooked on an SUV ~ college educated and still a student of life ~ wild college frat boy and now a settled alumnus ~ intellectual yet fun-loving geek ~ technical and leading edge ~ corporate cog ~ consultant ~ college football saturday devotee ~ and a ramblin' gamblin' helluva engineer (GO JACKETS!) ~
This is my personal blog. The views expressed on these pages are mine; and they are in no way associated with the views of my employer, family, friends, or associates.
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