ICYMI – MORE ELECTION CONCERNS

Voting reform advocates are warning the chaos seen during Georgia’s primary elections on Tuesday portends widespread problems in November if measures are not taken to expand mail-in voting and address other election challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tuesday’s elections saw voters in some areas of Atlanta waiting hours to cast their vote due to a combination of malfunctioning voting equipment, the consolidation of in-person polling places due to the COVID-19 crisis and confusion over voting absentee.

The voting precincts hit hardest were those with heavily minority populations, reinforcing concern about voter disenfranchisement as protests continued across the country over the police killing of George Floyd.

Nse Ufot, the executive director of the voting rights group New Georgia Project, told reporters Wednesday that she was “equal parts determined and pissed off,” describing the election confusion as “completely avoidable.”

“We witnessed a direct attack on our democracy and a trial run of what we are going to see,” Ufot said. “We saw people frustrated who literally quit on the spot, we saw polling locations close before voting was done and open late, hours late … we need to make sure things are fixed on the march to November.”

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) voiced her own frustrations late Tuesday night.

“Let’s all work, hope and pray that this is not a preview of November,” she tweeted.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) announced Tuesday that he was launching an investigation to understand what steps Georgia counties need to take to ensure November elections can move forward smoothly.

Georgia’s statewide voting implementation manager, Gabriel Sterling, directed blame at county election officials for the chaos at the polls, saying in a statement on Tuesday that the “breakdown occurred at the county level.”

But county officials and some reform advocates have cast their blame on Georgia elections officials for not adequately preparing the state for the voting changes implemented on Tuesday.