The man strode from the Fulton County Government Center with the state’s trademark “I’m a Georgia voter” sticker already slapped onto his windbreaker.
Michael Elloie was one of many thousands of Fulton residents who cast a ballot during the first few days of early voting. For him, the decision to vote early was precautionary and pragmatic: He has health issues, and didn’t want to take the chance of being too sick to vote on Election Day.
“I like to do it early, and make sure I got that under my belt,” the 63-year-old cook said Wednesday morning.
For Elloie, who lives in downtown Atlanta and walked to one of the county's 20 early voting stations, it was imperative to vote for the next governor.
“It’s very important that we get someone in there that’s going to do the job, not someone that’s just all over the place,” said the New Orleans native who has lived in Atlanta for two decades. “I don’t have a problem with voting for the person that I think is better for the job.”
In this case, he said, that’s Stacey Abrams. He likes that she has metro Atlanta roots — Abrams graduated from Avondale High School and Spelman College — and thinks she’ll work with Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms better than the Republican candidate, Secretary of State Brian Kemp, would.
In Sandy Springs, Andrea Lutz was unequivocal about who was getting her vote. The 70-year-old supports Kemp “because he’s a conservative and I am too,” she said Wednesday afternoon, calling herself “a big fan of his.”
Lutz said she agrees with Kemp on all of his stances on issues: she wants to build a wall; she doesn’t like sanctuary cities.
“I don’t mind immigrants, as long as they’re legal,” she said. “I don’t like illegal immigrants.”
Lutz was happy to see Kemp endorsed by President Donald Trump, she said, and is also supporting Geoff Duncan and Karen Handel in respective races for Lt. Governor and Congress.
“I like Trump,” she said. “He’s my man.”
A new poll released Wednesday shows a neck-and-neck race for Georgia governor. A record number of Georgians, more than 6.9 million, have registered to vote ahead of the significant — and potentially historic — Nov. 6 election.
Over at the East Roswell Public Library, Lisa Kaufman, 52, said she was hooked on Abrams when she heard the Democratic candidate speak. Kaufman thinks Abrams is poignant, but also down to Earth.
“I heard her speak and she is eloquent, in touch with issues that are important to me and she’s a smart woman,” Kaufman said. “She’s got some really interesting life experiences. I think she understands regular people.”
More than 21,700 people had voted in Fulton County as of Wednesday morning. A spokesperson for the county's board of elections said polling locations have corrected technology issues like the ones they experienced on Monday, when internet problems made the machines that verify voter registration useless for several hours, creating long lines.
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Charles Williams, 61, the poll manager at the North Fulton Government Service Center in Sandy Springs said 135 people had voted there on Wednesday by 10:30 a.m. Williams, who has been a poll manager for four elections, said 703 people voted there Monday and 804 voted on Tuesday. Since Fulton’s technology issues on Monday, “everything has been pretty good,” Williams said.
Beverly Peurifoy-Green, working her second election as a poll manager at the East Roswell Public Library, said everything has been “smooth” since Monday. She said 663 voted Monday, 735 voted Tuesday and about 75 people had voted on Wednesday by 11 a.m.
Voting early isn’t for everyone, though. One man leaving the Fulton County Government Center on other business said he would not vote early because something could come out about the candidates before Election Day.
One woman tried to vote at the center but failed, as she was still registered in DeKalb County.
As Nick Smart headed to vote in north Fulton Wednesday afternoon, he was leaning toward voting for Kemp.
“I’m not really happy with either one of the candidates for governor,” Smart said. “I just don’t think they represent us very well.”
The 70-year-old Sandy Springs resident said it would be a vote out of protest — the lesser of two evils.
“I’m a law and order guy. I’m not a fan of sanctuary cities,” Smart said. “I want someone who is good for business. I can’t vote for the socialist running for governor.”
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