U.S. News & World Report: Widespread Voting Issues Raise Alarm in Georgia Primary

06.9.2020 / By Lisa Hagen
U.S. News & World Report: Widespread Voting Issues Raise Alarm in Georgia Primary

And activists on the ground noted multiple issues at the state and local levels, arguing that voters were unable to find concrete information. Aunna Dennis, the executive director of Common Cause Georgia which is the state chapter of a nonpartisan watchdog group focused on voting rights, says that multiple polling locations moved within the 48 hours before the election with little warning and didn't provide proper signage to indicate the changes in locations for voters. And when machines stopped working, some locations only had 20 emergency and provisional ballots on hand. "For us, those are voter suppression tactics at work," Dennis says. "We all need to sit down to better plan, to create an emergency preparedness plan to make elections be more efficient."

HOURS-LONG VOTING lines, staffing shortages, delayed openings and malfunctioning voting machines greeted voters in Georgia Tuesday in what could be a sign of trouble for the general election in November.

Georgia is the latest state to experience widespread issues as it holds its primary in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. But the issues go beyond the problems expected because of an outbreak.

Election observers, voting rights advocates and local officials are reporting numerous issues with in-person voting in four Georgia counties, though Fulton County, the most populous county that includes Atlanta, has borne the brunt of it. But officials say the problems aren’t limited to the metro areas and are happening across much of the state.

Georgia is one of five states to hold primaries on Tuesday and while other states have seen various issues including South Carolina and Nevada, Georgia has faced extensive challenges since polls opened at 7 a.m., causing alarm among local officials and activists who worry about election preparedness by the November election. …

And activists on the ground noted multiple issues at the state and local levels, arguing that voters were unable to find concrete information.

Aunna Dennis, the executive director of Common Cause Georgia which is the state chapter of a nonpartisan watchdog group focused on voting rights, says that multiple polling locations moved within the 48 hours before the election with little warning and didn’t provide proper signage to indicate the changes in locations for voters. And when machines stopped working, some locations only had 20 emergency and provisional ballots on hand.

“For us, those are voter suppression tactics at work,” Dennis says. “We all need to sit down to better plan, to create an emergency preparedness plan to make elections be more efficient.”

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