Politics & Government
Early Voters Greeted Monday With Face Masks, Hand Sanitizer
Early voting in Georgia for the June 9 primary election started Monday. The last day to vote in advance is June 5.
GEORGIA — In-person voting started today throughout Georgia. Bring a face mask if you have one.
Even though more than 1.4 million Georgians have requested absentee ballots, state law still requires three weeks of in-person early voting before the June 9 election. Early voting will end June 5.
Along with early voting came poll workers with masks, hand sanitizer and social distancing. Voters are asked — but not required — to wear face masks. Some counties have styluses for voting on a touch screen so people won't have to use a finger.
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“The process is much slower than before due to distancing and sanitation requirements,” said Janine Eveler, elections director in Cobb County, as reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Wait times there were more than an hour.
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A poll worker in Gwinnett County who asked not to be identified said their polling place was crowded when it opened at 8 a.m. but that activity trickled off soon after. By early afternoon, only a few people were there voting.
Complicating matters were residents who decided to vote in person even though they’d already received absentee ballots. To vote in person, you have to bring your absentee ballot with you.
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office sent 6.9 million absentee-ballot applications to registered voters. As of May 14, more than 278,000 had been returned.
In-person voting almost didn’t happen Monday after the Coalition for Good Governance and others sued to postpone the primary election a third time — to June 30 — because of safety concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic. Judge Timothy Batten dismissed that lawsuit Thursday.
Georgia keeps a list of all early-voting locations on its elections website. You can find it here.
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