Engineering and environmental firms performing environmental or Phase I assessments for a specific property can contact our office about fires, hazard chemical spills, environmental clean-ups operations and emergency incidents by email. Get more information from our

Please do NOT call 9-1-1 Communications to report a power outage. Power outages must be reported to your power provider or municipal utility service. Calling 9-1-1 for power outages delays 9-1-1 operators from helping others with life-threatening emergencies.

If you are a Jefferson Energy customer please call 706-547-2167 or 877-JEFFERSON.
If you are a Georgia Power customer please call 888-891-0938.

Jefferson County Emergency Management provides speakers on a variety of topics including:
-Community and family preparedness
-Tornado planning and drills
-What is emergency preparedness?
-Overviews of what we do or recent disasters

You can call 478-625-4102 and ask for Jim Anderson and he will coordinate your speaker request.

The decision on which shelter(s) to open is made based on the specifics of each different emergency. Not all shelters are opened every time Jefferson County decides to open a shelter. If the emergency threat is in a specific area we would open a shelter as close as possible to that specific area, but out of danger. Listen to local TV and radio during an emergency when you think you need shelter to find out where the nearest open shelter is. Please call 478-625-4102 for more information.

You can register online at

You should call the Jefferson County 911 Communications Center immediately when you discover a chemical or fuel spill. They can be reached by calling 9-1-1.

There are several ways to

The location of your polling place is listed on your precinct card. If you do not have one, or have misplaced your card and do not know where your polling place is located, you may contact Board of Elections Office at 478-625-8357 for that information. You can also call the Secretary of State at 888-265-1115 or visit the

Yes. Sample ballots are available through the Board of Elections office. Voters are authorized to carry a sample ballot or list of selected candidates with them to the polls to aid them in voting their ballot. You may not share the sample ballot or candidate list with other voters at the polls, but you may use it for your benefit. Please call 478-625-8357 for more information

When you arrive at your polling place, you will complete a voter's certificate which asks for your name and residence address. You will then present the certificate and proper identification to the poll officials who will verify that you are a registered voter in that precinct by checking the voters list for that precinct. Voters are required to present identification at their polling place prior to casting their ballot. Get information regarding

Voters are required to notify the board of elections of their county of residence whenever they move. If you move within the county in which you are registered to vote and did not notify the registrar at least 30 days prior to the election, you may vote in your old polling place for this election. You must complete a change of address card at the polling place.

If you move outside the county in which you are registered to vote within 30 days of an election, you may vote in your old precinct for that election and any ensuing runoff only. If you move outside the county in which you are registered to vote more than 30 days prior to an election, you have lost your eligibility to vote in elections in the county of your old residence. You must register to vote in your new county of residence, and if you did not register to vote in the new county by the deadline, you cannot vote in that particular election. Please call 478-625-8357 for more information.

If you need to file a change of address you can complete the back of your precinct card and mail it to the Board of Elections Office:
415 Green Street
Louisville, GA 30434

If you no longer have your precinct card, you may submit your change in writing stating the old and new address and you must sign the request. If the request is done within 30 days of an election, the change may not take effect until after the election. Please call 478-625-8357 for more information.

You can call the office and a card can be mailed to you within 2 weeks, or you can come into the Board of Elections Office and get a certified copy of your voter registration record. If you need the card for international travel please note that effective January 26, 1996, pursuant to Public Law 104-99, any document that evidences voter registration cannot be used to prove United States citizenship. Please call 478-625-8357 for more information.

Yes, Advance Voting will be available in the Board of Elections Office beginning 21 days prior to all federal and state elections, and also on the 2nd Saturday prior to all federal and state elections. For municipal elections, Advance Voting will begin 21 days prior to the date of the election. Advance Voting will be available as soon as possible prior to the date of the special election. Saturday voting will not generally be available for municipal and special elections.

In busy elections, during the last week of Advance Voting the Board of Elections may choose to open additional sites for Advance Voting and has developed a policy pertaining to establishing any additional sites. You may contact the Board of Elections Office for additional information at 478-625-8357.

If a voter is unable to produce any of the required forms of identification, the voter shall be allowed to vote a Provisional Ballot. The voter is allowed 72 hours to provide proper ID in order to have their ballot counted. If they fail to provide proper ID their provisional ballot will not be counted. Please call 478-625-8357 for more information

A FREE Voter ID Card can be issued by the Board of Elections office or the Georgia Department of Driver Services. More information on Georgia’s Voter Identification Requirements and obtaining a free Voter Identification Card is available from the Georgia Secretary of State's website.

To obtain a free photo Voter Identification Card, the applicant must be registered to vote in Georgia and must sign an affidavit that states that they do not have a Georgia Driver’s License or State issued Identification Card. For more information, visit the

Polls are open from 7 a.m. till 7 p.m. on each Election Day. However, any voter who is waiting to vote at 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote. Please call 478-625-8357 for more information.

Peak voting hours appear to be from 7-9:30 a.m., 4:30-7 p.m., and during the mid-day lunch hour. Please call 478-625-8357 for more information.

Yes, between the hours of 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on the day of an election, voters who are 75 years of age or older or who are physically disabled may, upon request to a poll officer, vote immediately at the next available booth without waiting in line. Please call 478-625-8357 for more information.

Yes, Georgia Law requires employers to grant their workers up to 2 hours to vote on Election Day. However, the employer is authorized to specify the hours which an employee may use. This provision for time off to vote does not apply to employees whose hours of work begin at least 2 hours after the polls open or end at least 2 hours before the polls close. There is no obligation for an employer to pay the employee for the time taken off to vote. Please call 478-625-8357 for more information.

Yes, children under the age of 18 may accompany a parent into the voting booth. However, the children may not be disruptive or interfere with the voting process, vote the ballot or operate any function of the voting machine. Please call 478-625-8357 for more information.

Within 150 feet of the building in which a polling place is located, no person may:
-Campaign
-Circulate petitions
-Distribute literature or written or printed matter of any kind
-Wear campaign buttons, signs, pins, stickers, T-shirts, etc.
-Perform similar activities

Please call 478-625-8357 for more information.

Yes, poll officers of the precinct will be available to answer any questions that voters may have concerning voting their ballot or operating the voting equipment. Please call 478-625-8357 for more information.

The Board of Elections website has information regarding the differences between

The Georgia Secretary of State's website features results of statewide and federal elections from 1988 to 2011. You can also follow election night results for Jefferson as they come in Election Night by accessing the Board of Elections website. Get more elections information from the

You may find information on qualifying for office in the Secretary of State's Qualifications and Disqualifications for Holding Elective Office in Georgia

A provisional ballot is a paper ballot used by a voter whose eligibility to vote is in question and cannot be determined on Election Day. Please call 478-625-8357 for more information.

Beginning the day following the election, the registrar investigates each and every provisional ballot in an attempt to help prove the voter’s eligibility. If the registrar can find proof that the voter is eligible to vote then the voter’s ballot is counted, if not the voter’s ballot is rejected. Please call 478-625-8357 for more information.

On Election Day, you are required to go to your assigned polling place in order to vote, except that if you show up at the wrong polling place and in the reasonable exercise of discretion the registrar determines that there is not enough time for you to make it to your correct polling place by 7 p.m., you may be allowed to vote a provisional ballot at the polling place in which you are present. In this case, only the votes cast for candidates for whom you would have been eligible to vote were you in your proper polling location shall be counted. Please call 478-625-8357 for more information.

There are no restrictions on who may assist a voter in completing an absentee ballot application. But, there are restrictions on who can apply for an absentee ballot on behalf of a voter:
-1st, the application shall be in writing and shall contain the name and relationship of the person requesting the ballot, if other than the elector.
-2nd, in the case of an elector residing temporarily out of the county or municipality or a physically disabled elector residing within the county or municipality, the application for the elector's absentee ballot may, upon satisfactory proof of relationship, be made by such elector's mother, father, grandparent, aunt, uncle, sister, brother, spouse, son, daughter, niece, nephew, grandchild, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law of the age of 18 or over. Relatives applying for absentee ballots for electors must also sign an oath stating that facts in the application are true.
3rd, if the elector is unable to fill out or sign such elector's own application because of illiteracy or physical disability, the elector shall make the elector’s mark, if able, and the person filling in the rest of the application shall sign such person's name below it as a witness.

Please call 478-625-8357 for more information.

If a physically disabled voter or a voter 75 years of age or older makes a written request to receive an absentee ballot for the primary, primary runoff, general, or general runoff, he or she will receive ballots without having to ask again by specifically stating on the written request or absentee application the following phrase: All Ballots.

The All Ballots request will be in effect for the remainder of the regular election cycle and will not apply to Presidential Preference Primaries or Special Elections. Please call 478-625-8357 for more information.

There are no restrictions on who may take possession of, transmit, or deliver an application for an absentee ballot or on how those applications are transmitted or delivered.

Some ways in which an application for an absentee ballot may be returned include:
-Personal delivery by the voter
-By mail
-By fax
-In a bundle over the counter, by mail, or by fax by a 3rd party on behalf of the voter

Please call 478-625-8357 for more information.

A physically disabled or illiterate elector may receive assistance in preparing his or her ballot from one of the following:
-Any elector who is qualified to vote in the same county or municipality as the disabled or illiterate elector
-An attendant care provider or a person providing attendant care
-The mother, father, grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother, sister, spouse, son, daughter, niece, nephew, grandchild, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law of the disabled or illiterate elector.

The person assisting the elector in preparing the ballot shall sign the oath printed on the same envelope as the oath to be signed by the elector. If the disabled or illiterate elector is traveling outside his or her own county or municipality, a notary public of the jurisdiction may give such assistance and shall sign the oath printed on the same envelope as the oath to be signed by the elector. No person shall assist more than ten such electors in any primary, election, or runoff in which there is no federal candidate on the ballot. Please call 478-625-8357 for more information.

Georgia law prohibits anyone other than the voter from taking personal possession of, or delivering a voted mail-in absentee ballot, unless the voter is physically disabled in which case the ballot may be returned by any adult person upon satisfactory proof that such adult person is the voter’s mother, father, grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother, sister, spouse, son, daughter, niece, nephew, grandchild, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, or an individual residing in the household of the disabled voter.

Voted ballots returned to the Elections Office in person may only be returned by the voter or in the case of a physically disabled voter by one of the relatives listed above. All other voted mail-in absentee ballots must be received by mail by the close of the polls at 7 p.m. on Election Night. Please call 478-625-8357 for more information.