CLAY NATIONAL GUARD CENTER, Marietta, Ga. Jan. 17, 2012 – Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp and Maj. Gen. Jim Butterworth, Georgia's Adjutant General, briefed more than 100 senior leaders of the Georgia Army and Air National Guard here today on voting initiatives for Georgia's citizens and overseas members of the military. Secretary Kemp thanked the Soldiers and Airmen for their service before describing improvements in the overseas voting process.

"Georgia is keeping its promise to our citizens overseas, and to the men and women who fight to protect our Constitution and our freedoms, by protecting their voting rights and providing them additional opportunities to vote and fully participate in elections," said Secretary Kemp. "Your vote will be counted."

General Butterworth reiterated the Secretary's message by saying, "I applaud Secretary Kemp's efforts to educate our Guardsmen on how to exercise their right to vote at home and when deployed overseas. The ballot box is among the truest symbols of our democracy and I will always encourage our men and women in uniform to participate in this sacred process."

Kemp later fielded questions from military members and the media. In response to a question posed by Army Guard Capt. Trevor Wheless, the Secretary noted that voters could visit the My Voter Page to determine if their voter registration is active. "The deadline to register is Feb. 6, while absentee voters have until March 6 to request their ballots. Those ballots must be returned by March 9."

Kemp then went on to continue his outreach effort by visiting with military members at Robins Air Force Base and the Georgia Air Guard's Combat Readiness Training Center in Garden City.

Absentee ballots can now be requested electronically on the Secretary of State's My Voter Page website at http://www.sos.ga.gov/mvp.

Contact:

1st Lt. William Carraway

Media Relations Officer

Georgia Department of Defense

(404) 788-1487

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