ATLANTA — The American Postal Workers Union is working to rally support for voting by mail as early voting gets underway for Georgia’s May primary.

The union has launched an ad campaign aimed at increasing confidence in the process.

“We trust voting by mail, it gives us time to decide,” the ad states.

Charles Broughton, president of the Georgia chapter of the American Postal Workers Union, says mail-in voting is a safe option for casting a ballot.

“I know the postal workers recognize mail in ballots and they make sure they’re given priority when those ballots come in and make sure they get to their destinations,” Broughton said.

Broughton says postal employees handle ballots with care.

“During the election season and basically any day of the week, postal employees check their areas to make sure there’s no viable mail that’s left behind,” he said.

In Georgia, anyone can vote by mail for any reason.

According to the Smithsonian, mail-in voting dates back to the Civil War, when Union soldiers were able to cast ballots during the 1864 election.

Data from the Secretary of State’s Office shows more than 240,000 absentee ballots were cast during the 2024 election.

So far, more than 33,000 absentee ballots have been requested for the May primary.

WSB Radio’s Jonathan O’Brien contributed to this story.