ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Months of political earthquakes, scorched-earth vitriol, and hundreds of millions of dollars spent in an unrelenting war of words have all led to this: Tuesday at 7 a.m., when Georgia decides.

In an election widely seen as yet another referendum on President Donald Trump and the direction of the nation now rests in the hands of everyday voters, as polling places across all 159 Georgia counties open for the most consequential midterm showdowns in memory.

Bare-knuckle fight for U.S. Senate

At the very top of the ticket is a clash that could single-handedly decide party control of the upper chamber of Congress.

Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, seeking his first reelection, faces a challenge from Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Collins. Collins, an unyielding ally of the 47th president and author of the Laken Riley Act, the first piece of legislation signed into law by Trump during his second term in the Oval Office.

Ossoff has relentlessly hammered Collins over his steadfast loyalty to Trump, launching blistering attacks that branded his opponent an extremist and a white supremacist following Collins’ primary runoff victory.

Despite recent polls showing Trump’s historically low approval numbers, Collins has doubled down on his alliance with the former president, joining Trump on stage at recent campaign rallies in Dalton and Perry. On the trail, Collins has aggressively fired back, painting Ossoff as an out-of-touch tool of Hollywood and East Coast elites bent on advancing a radically progressive agenda.

Historic crossroads for Georgia governor

The shadow of the White House looms just as large over the battle for the governor’s mansion.

Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms is vying to make history as the nation’s first Black female governor. The former Atlanta mayor and senior Biden administration official has framed her campaign around kitchen-table economics and civil rights, repeatedly blasting Republican nominee Rick Jackson for his pledge on the trail to be “Trump’s favorite governor.”

Jackson, a billionaire businessman who stunned the nation when he emerged victorious from a bruising GOP primary runoff against Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, has campaigned on a sweeping conservative agenda: slashing state income taxes, freezing property tax hikes, and reining in the cost of health care, while framing Bottoms as a failed urban executive who left Atlanta after just one term.

Down-ballot, voters are also deciding high-stakes contests for state constitutional offices, competitive U.S. House seats, and the balance of power across both chambers of the Georgia General Assembly.

Election day voting: What you need to know

• Poll Hours: Polling locations across Georgia are open Tuesday, Nov. 3, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Anyone in line by 7:00 p.m. has the legal right to cast a ballot.
• Where to Vote: Unlike early voting, you must vote at your assigned neighborhood precinct on Election Day. Verify your polling location and view your sample ballot before leaving home by logging into the state’s My Voter Page at mvp.sos.ga.gov.

Photo ID requirements

Georgia law requires voters to present an approved, government-issued photo ID at check-in. Valid options include:

• A Georgia driver’s license (even if expired)
• Any valid state or federal government-issued photo ID (including a free voter ID card issued by your county registrar or the Department of Driver Services)
• A valid U.S. passport
• A valid employee photo ID issued by any branch, department, or agency of the federal, state, county, or local government
• A valid U.S. military photo ID
• A valid tribal photo ID card

Urgent absentee ballot deadline

If you have an unreturned mail-in absentee ballot, do not mail it—it will not arrive in time to be counted.

• Completed absentee ballots must be delivered by hand directly to your county registrar’s office before 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Ballots received after 7 p.m. cannot be accepted under Georgia law, regardless of the postmark.
• If you requested an absentee ballot but wish to vote in person on Tuesday, bring your unvoted paper ballot with you to your polling site so election workers can cancel it on the spot.

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