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Hours-long waits, problems with new voting machines and a lack of available ballots plagued voters in majority minority counties in Georgia on Tuesday — conditions the secretary of state called "unacceptable" and vowed to investigate.
Democrats and election watchers said voting issues in a state that has been plagued for years with similar problems, along with allegations of racial bias, didn't bode well for the November presidential election when Georgia could be in play.
"This seems to be happening throughout Atlanta and perhaps throughout the county. People have been in line since before 7:00 am this morning," Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, tweeted shortly after polls were supposed to open — and in some cases still hadn't.
Cody Cutting was on a long line at Lang Carson Community Center in Reynoldstown, Atlanta, where the line snaked around the block and some had been waiting to cast their votes for four and a half hours.
"People are a bit frustrated but spirits are still okay. Neighbors are bringing around food, water and chairs," he told NBC News.
Lengthy waits were reported in other parts of Fulton, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, said the problems "in certain precincts" in Fulton and DeKalb were "unacceptable."
"My office has opened an investigation to determine what these counties need to do to resolve these issues before November's election," he said in a statement.
Voting problems also plagued Fulton County in 2018, which led to charges of voter suppression by Democrats. The secretary of state at the time was Brian Kemp, a Republican, who wound up winning the governorship by a thin margin against Democrat Stacey Abrams. Abrams called the election "rotten and rigged."
Democrats have targeted Georgia — which has added 700,000 registered voters to the rolls since 2018 — as a possible swing state in November.
DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond blamed Raffensperger for the problems, and said he and his office should be investigated by the governor's office.
"It is the secretary of state's responsibility to train, prepare, and equip election staff throughout the state to ensure fair and equal access to the ballot box. Those Georgians who have been disenfranchised by the statewide chaos that has effected the voting system today in numerous DeKalb precincts and throughout the state of Georgia deserve answers," Thurmond said.
Kristen Clarke, president and CEO of the civil rights group Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law," called the election “a catastrophe. If we view the primary election as a dry run for November, then Georgia gets an F today."
She said her group has been flooded with calls from "voters who encountered barriers from polling sites that are not open on time, malfunctioning equipment, long lines with several hours' wait time, insufficient backup paper ballots and more.”
Three quarters of voters who called with problems mentioned their race was African-American, Clarke said.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/20...n-after-unacceptable-voting-problems-n1228541
Democrats and election watchers said voting issues in a state that has been plagued for years with similar problems, along with allegations of racial bias, didn't bode well for the November presidential election when Georgia could be in play.
"This seems to be happening throughout Atlanta and perhaps throughout the county. People have been in line since before 7:00 am this morning," Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, tweeted shortly after polls were supposed to open — and in some cases still hadn't.
Cody Cutting was on a long line at Lang Carson Community Center in Reynoldstown, Atlanta, where the line snaked around the block and some had been waiting to cast their votes for four and a half hours.
"People are a bit frustrated but spirits are still okay. Neighbors are bringing around food, water and chairs," he told NBC News.
Lengthy waits were reported in other parts of Fulton, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, said the problems "in certain precincts" in Fulton and DeKalb were "unacceptable."
"My office has opened an investigation to determine what these counties need to do to resolve these issues before November's election," he said in a statement.
Voting problems also plagued Fulton County in 2018, which led to charges of voter suppression by Democrats. The secretary of state at the time was Brian Kemp, a Republican, who wound up winning the governorship by a thin margin against Democrat Stacey Abrams. Abrams called the election "rotten and rigged."
Democrats have targeted Georgia — which has added 700,000 registered voters to the rolls since 2018 — as a possible swing state in November.
DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond blamed Raffensperger for the problems, and said he and his office should be investigated by the governor's office.
"It is the secretary of state's responsibility to train, prepare, and equip election staff throughout the state to ensure fair and equal access to the ballot box. Those Georgians who have been disenfranchised by the statewide chaos that has effected the voting system today in numerous DeKalb precincts and throughout the state of Georgia deserve answers," Thurmond said.
Kristen Clarke, president and CEO of the civil rights group Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law," called the election “a catastrophe. If we view the primary election as a dry run for November, then Georgia gets an F today."
She said her group has been flooded with calls from "voters who encountered barriers from polling sites that are not open on time, malfunctioning equipment, long lines with several hours' wait time, insufficient backup paper ballots and more.”
Three quarters of voters who called with problems mentioned their race was African-American, Clarke said.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/20...n-after-unacceptable-voting-problems-n1228541
