A new Georgia voting law reduced ballot drop box access in places that used them most

Monica Poole looked forward to voting in Georgia’s primary in May.

But after breaking her ankle, she couldn’t drive. Even navigating the stairs from her second-floor Atlanta apartment was impossible, so waiting in line to vote wasn’t an option. Poole applied for a mail-in absentee ballot, like many Georgians have in recent years, and wanted to return it using a drop box.

But the nearest one in Fulton County, where Poole lives, was a 20-minute drive and accessible only during limited hours and days, unlike 2020 when drop boxes were available all across the county and accessible seven days a week around the clock until Election Day.