Cobb’s top election official has not ruled out more changes to county voting precincts and polling locations between now and November, as lawmakers caution against disruption in a fraught election year.
Janine Eveler, director of the Cobb County Board of Elections, spoke to the Cobb legislative delegation Monday after the county split some precincts and moved polling locations for others, affecting at least 50,000 voters.
The changes come as Georgia faces mounting elections lawsuits over alleged voter suppression and the security of new voting machines being rolled out across the state.
Eveler told lawmakers the board has struggled to find new polling locations after it decided to remove election activities from schools due to concerns over security and voter access. The board is also attempting to shorten lines on Election Day as the county grows, she said.
In 2018, Cobb came under scrutiny for long lines and hours-long wait times — even for early voting.
Eveler said her office has conducted a social media campaign about the precinct and polling changes and sent letters to affected households to get the word out.
State Rep. Mary Frances Williams (D-Marietta) said she supported moving polling places out of schools, but did not approve of the way it was handled. She expressed alarm about a proposal to change some polling locations again between the presidential primary in March and the general election in November.
“I understand the need to make the change, but I’m just curious as to why the board didn’t do it last summer so you wouldn’t be doing it in the middle of an election cycle,” she said. “I think the timing is not good at all.”
Eveler said the board did move dozens of polling places last year, but that finding new locations has been a challenge.
“We’re not the best tenant to have on Election Day,” she said. “It’s a lot of trouble for the facility to host us, so sometimes they say no.”
“The timing is not what I would have liked either, but we couldn’t get them all done last year,” she added.
Both State Rep. Ed. Setzler (R-Acworth) and Erick Allen (D-Smyrna) expressed a desire to expand access to early voting, noting the increase in voters casting their ballot before election day.
“I strongly believe adding early voting locations would reduce that burden the day of [the election],” Allen said.
“We will try,” Eveler said.
Early voting for the presidential primaries in Cobb begins on March 2 at two locations, and expands to 10 locations from March 16 to 20. Election Day is March 24.
Eveler encouraged voters to check their registration status and polling place with the secretary of state's office website.
