Forsyth County posts ballot details, voting dates before May 19 election

Forsyth County voters heading into the May 19 General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election will have three ballot choices, and the one detail most likely to trip people up is that Georgia does not register voters by party.

County election officials say residents can choose a nonpartisan ballot, a Democratic ballot or a Republican ballot. The nonpartisan ballot includes only the 11 judicial contests, while the Democratic and Republican ballots add their party-specific straw poll questions to those same judicial races. For voters who have not taken part in a partisan primary before, that distinction matters at the check-in table.

The county is also warning residents to confirm their polling place before leaving home. A few Election Day locations have changed, and Georgia officials say polling places can shift from one election to the next. Forsyth County says voters should use the state’s My Voter Page to verify registration, district information, sample ballots and the correct Election Day site, and county staff note that recent registration changes can take 24 to 48 hours to show up in that system.

Advance voting will run from Monday, April 27 through Friday, May 15, with Sunday, May 10 excluded. Absentee ballot applications will be accepted through Friday, May 8. Election Day is Tuesday, May 19, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at all 30 Election Day polling places in the county. If a runoff is needed, it is scheduled for June 16.

The registration deadline for this election was Monday, April 20, 2026, and county notices say candidate qualifying for the 2026 election cycle ran March 2-6 at 1201 Sawnee Drive in Cumming. Public notices also list Mandi Smith as Forsyth County’s Voter Registrations and Elections director. County officials have said the Administration Building moved to the Freedom Park campus at 2435 Freedom Parkway effective March 30, a change residents should keep in mind when looking for county election offices.

For voters trying to avoid a last-minute problem, the simplest rule is this: check the ballot type, confirm the polling place and do not wait until May 19 to sort out either one.