Atlanta Hawks to transform State Farm Arena into Georgia’s largest voting precinct

Early voting begins July 20

Fulton County is partnering with the Atlanta Hawks to create Georgia’s largest voting precinct at State Farm Arena, starting with early voting on July 20 for the Georgia General Primary Runoff Election on Aug. 11.

Officials say the partnership will allow tens of thousands of voters to cast their ballots for upcoming elections while maintaining CDC-recommended social distancing requirements at the state-of-the-art facility. In addition, Fulton County Registration & Elections will conduct other elections support operations at the site, including absentee ballot processing and more.

“Fulton County is grateful to the entire Atlanta Hawks organization for being an outstanding partner,” said Fulton County Board of Commissioners’ Chairman Robb Pitts. “Tony Ressler, Steve Koonin and their organization have once again demonstrated that the Hawks are True to Atlanta.”

In addition to offering the venue, hundreds of Atlanta Hawks & State Farm Arena full-time and part-time employees will be trained to serve as election workers to further support the operations.

“When our ownership group purchased the Hawks & State Farm Arena five years ago, we were clear that we felt it was our responsibility to make sure the organization was an important civic asset to the city of Atlanta. Utilizing State Farm Arena and our incredible staff to make the arena an accessible and vital polling site in an important election year is a fulfillment on that promise,” said Atlanta Hawks & State Farm Arena Principal Owner Tony Ressler.

Mary Carole Cooney, chairperson of the Fulton County Board of Registration & Elections, thanked State Farm for the partnership.

“State Farm Arena is an ideal solution to help us serve thousands of voters while maintaining social distancing requirements,” said Mary Carole Cooney, Chairperson of the Fulton County Board of Registration & Elections. “We appreciate the Hawks for coming to us with this creative solution.”

To provide greater accessibility to voting, the Hawks Foundation will be providing free parking to individuals accessing the venue to vote. More than 1,500 parking spots surrounding the arena will provide complimentary parking for vehicles with a voter.

MARTA CEO Jeff Parker has approved reopening the MARTA station at the State Farm arena.