Legal action threatened over Georgia voter website woes

Intermittent problems Tuesday with the Georgia secretary of state’s website gave a national civil rights group all the reason it needed to renew a threat of legal action, despite only sporadic polling problems reported across the state.

Hundreds of voters reported trouble trying to access the state’s online “my voter page” to confirm their registration or find their polling place. The glitch did not affect the state’s computerized voting system, and “it certainly did not prevent anyone from voting,” said Jared Thomas, spokesman for Secretary of State Brian Kemp.

It came, however, at an inopportune time: A state judge last week dismissed a lawsuit by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and other groups who wanted the court to intervene in Georgia's voter registration process. Calling the suit "frivolous," Kemp and local election officials say no legal voter application has been overlooked. But the defeat motivated the groups to increase their scrutiny on Election Day.

Now, “we’re looking at every available legal option because the voters of Georgia deserve better than what they got,” said Barbara Arnwine, the Lawyers’ Committee president and executive director. Arnwine said the group is also still concerned whether all eligible voters had access to the polls, although there was no way to immediately verify unusual numbers of voters had problems.

The nonpartisan Election Protection hotline reported more than 1,300 calls from voters over the previous two days, with several hundred calling Tuesday morning when they couldn’t access the state’s online “my voter page.”

The Web problems reportedly cleared up by about 11 a.m. It is not clear that the site crashed completely. It instead slowed noticeably when accessed. Some users were directed to an error message. While it worked on a fix, the office urged voters to call or email its Elections Division.

It is not clear that the problems stopped voters from going to the polls.

The state is not legally required to provide the “my voter page.” Still, groups critical of Georgia said state officials often “tout” it as a go-to place for information.

Other problems reported Tuesday were localized and, often, temporary. A DeKalb County judge ordered a polling location on Bouldercrest Road to stay open an extra 15 minutes because voting started late. Voters at two other DeKalb precincts reported using paper ballots.

At one precinct in the Buckhead area of Fulton County, equipment problems delayed voting by about 40 minutes with conflicting information about whether voters were offered paper ballots or forced to wait. At a polling location on Atlanta’s Georgia Tech campus, some voters reported having to pay to leave the parking lot despite signs announcing free parking.

Fulton Elections Director Richard Barron said, “We will need to pay Georgia Tech to have (an early morning attendant) there in the future.”