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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Nse Ufot, the executive director of the voting rights group New Georgia Project, told reporters Wednesday that she was \u201cequal parts determined and pissed off,\u201d describing the election confusion as \u201ccompletely avoidable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe witnessed a direct attack on our democracy and a trial run of what we are going to see,\u201d Ufot said. \u201cWe 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.”<\/p>\n
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) voiced her own frustrations late Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s all work, hope and pray that this is not a preview of November,\u201d she tweeted.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Georgia\u2019s 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 \u201cbreakdown occurred at the county level.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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