Are Ga. Elections On Track For November’s Turnout? Fulton Officials Say Runoffs Were Trial Run
A security guard opens a door before a media tour of the State Farm Arena last month in Atlanta. The facility was used as a poll location for the last election. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and local officials are working to get past absentee and in-person voting snags before November.
John Bazemore / Associated PRess
Turnout was much lower for Georgia’s Aug. 11 runoffs than the June 9 primaries … as expected by state and local elections officials.
But WABE has been investigating what Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and local officials, like Fulton Elections Chief Richard Barron, are doing to get past absentee and in-person voting snags before November.
Fulton County had a goal of nearly 80% for early voting or voting-by-mail. Only 20% were predicted to come into the polls Aug. 11.
WABE reporter Emil Moffatt says Fulton County came pretty close to hitting those marks. He told WABE “All Things Considered” host Jim Burress that overall turnout was 11%, and about 23% of those Fulton voters stood in line this week. That in-person turnout is the county’s ballpark goal for November.
Moffatt said this election also gave newly recruited poll workers a trial run — a chance to get through the setup and brush-up on essential training.
“Fulton County wants to have perhaps 80 more polling sites than there were in June for the November election,” Moffatt said, noting that could put a strain on the system.
But officials are also concerned about delays in mail deliveries during the coronavirus pandemic, with a record number of Georgians voting by-mail this year.
“This is not just a Georgia problem, this seems to be happening across the country with some changes at the top of the postal service,” Moffatt said.
Georgia elections officials are also continuing to work on getting an online portal up and running, both at the state and county level, to make it easier for voters to request absentee ballots online. The state election board passed the rules this week. Raffensperger first announced the absentee ballot request portal in July.
Raffensperger’s office said in a statement that the portal is currently being tested but should be released later this month. The portal is expected to help counties like Fulton track and deliver absentee ballots more quickly. Previously, voters had to download their ballot request, print it, sign it and return it through email or deliver it in person to their local registrar’s offices. Officials say the portal will verify someone’s identity by matching their Georgia driver’s license or state ID with information on file in the voter registration system.
Lily Oppenheimer contributed to this report.
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