Monday, Oct. 7, is the deadline for Georgia citizens to register to vote – if not already registered – or to update voter information before the Nov. 5 general election. But after a weeklong closure of Bulloch County administrative offices in Hurricane Helene’s aftermath, Monday is also the first day the county elections office is scheduled to open.

However, a phone call late Wednesday morning to the Board of Elections and Registration number, 912-764-6502, was answered promptly. Election Supervisor Shontay Jones explained that although the office’s doors were locked, staff had opened a door for a few individuals who knocked for voter registration purposes.

She asked that voters call first but said that the office should be available by phone Thursday and Friday as well.

A limited number of staff members will be there preparing absentee ballots to be mailed because Monday is also the first day election officials can legally mail them out, and the Bulloch County office has already received almost 1,000 absentee ballot requests.

“We’re dealing with voters that are calling us, and we have a sign out if they need to knock on our door,” Jones said. “We’ve actually served several voters this morning.  The thing of it for us was we know some voters are without power, there are other offices closed, and we’ve got a Monday deadline to start getting absentee ballots out, so we felt like we needed  to  go  ahead and come in.”

But internet service to the office remained  ‘kind of shaky” Wednesday, and  she thought that  actually opening the office wouldn’t be  safe while the other offices were closed, she added.

Monday, Oct. 7, the Bulloch County Board of Elections and Registration office in the County Annex, 113 N. Main St., Suite 201, Statesboro, is expected to be open during its regular hours, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., along with the rest of the county offices. Would-be voters who are Bulloch County residents can  register or update their registration, such as for  changes of address, in person then, until  the close of business.

Georgia residents can also check their registration, and register to vote or update their registration, online at the statewide My Voter Page, https://mvp.sos.ga.gov/s/ and the deadline when registering online is midnight Monday, Oct. 7.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot will be Oct. 25, and meanwhile the first day of the three-week opportunity for in-person early voting will be Tuesday, Oct. 15.

County’s Helene notice

With an email sent to media outlets Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 7, by Dal Cannady, communications director for the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners, confirmed that the commissioners’ 5:30 p.m. regular meeting that day was cancelled  and announced that county administrative offices would remain closed all this week.

The release, which was entitled “Update: Closures and Cancellations Below” began with the following statement.

“While progress has been made in restoration efforts, the County is still facing several challenges. Many roads are still blocked by debris, fallen power lines, and malfunctioning traffic signals, especially in rural areas. Approximately 88% of rural electric utilities are still not functioning and numerous small water systems and private wells are out of service due to the power outages.

“Solid waste centers are overwhelmed with debris and food waste and several county buildings and properties have been damaged, affecting working conditions. Communication and computer systems in county facilities remain unreliable. To finish assessing and repairing the damage and before resuming full operations, a list of closures and cancellations for the remainder of the week are provided below.”

Administrative offices - Closed

“We plan to reopen at 8 a.m. on Monday, October 7,” the notice stated. “The closure does not apply to Public Safety, Public Works, and similar essential services.”

Commission meetings – Cancelled

The regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners scheduled for Oct. 1 at 5:30 p.m. was cancelled and will be rescheduled and announced at a later date.

The special meeting of the Board of Commissioners scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 3,, at 5:30 p.m. is cancelled and will be rescheduled and announced at a later date.

Equalization Board hearings, too

Tax appeal hearings scheduled for Sept. 30, Oct. 1 and Oct. 2 will be rescheduled and announced

at a later date.

“Please note that court closures may be subject to judicial orders or other mandates by elected officials,” the notice stated at the end.