John Spink/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP
Voters wait in line at the Park Tavern polling place in Atlanta, on Tuesday, June 9, 2020.
Almost everything that could go wrong with an election did in Tuesday’s Georgia primary election. Is this a harbinger of November? At the very least, it’s a wake-up call.
The state had ordered 30,000 new machines, and these machines are tricky to use and prone to malfunction. Critics had warned that an election year was no time to try out new hardware. Voters had to wait while inexperienced poll workers tried to figure out the machines.
In Fulton County (Atlanta), voters reported long delays; and despite polls being kept open an extra two hours, many went home in frustration without casting ballots. The virus also kept home many experienced poll workers, who are senior citizens; and officials had not trained new ones in sufficient numbers.
In addition, many voters who had requested absentee ballots reported that they never arrived, or were unusable. Stacey Abrams, who narrowly lost the governor’s race in 2018, in an election marked by shameful voter suppression, told the Times that she had requested an absentee ballot, but it came with an official return envelope that was sealed shut.
Georgia, of course, is a state that is highly competitive this year, both in the presidential and in two U.S. Senate races. The secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, is a Republican—but not one of the worst according to voting rights advocates.
This seems more a case of incompetence than willful suppression—but the two tend to merge when predominantly African American and Democratic bastions such as Atlanta are hardest hit. Even relatively decent Republican election officials in purple states don’t seem to mind snafus and depressed turnout.
Can nothing be done? Actually, plenty can be done. Atlanta and Fulton County are both governed by Democrats. They can train more poll workers, demand more machines, test them early, and press the state to be more proactive on absentee ballots. They can file suits where they suspect deliberate sabotage.
That said, Georgia is a preview of November, and Republicans are in charge of elections in several swing states. It’s urgent that voting rights activists get into high gear right now.
