Georgia avoided major issues at the polls Tuesday, with the biggest headlines grabbed by a metro Atlanta mayor whose social media "joke" about different Election Days for Republicans and Democrats drew national criticism.
The most persistent problems were similar to those in almost every election: long lines, confusion over polling sites and equipment malfunctions.
Local elections officials, including those in DeKalb County, were also looking into isolated reports of voters having trouble with the state’s voter ID requirements. Fulton County election officials, at the behest of voter advocates, reminded poll workers to provide provisional ballots to voters who said they were wrongfully denied ballots earlier in the day. But Fulton County Elections Director Richard Barron said he was not aware of any specific instances of voters being turned away.
Julie Houk of the national Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, who was stationed in Georgia as part of that group’s Election Protection hotline effort, said it was unclear how many people were affected by the issue. Advocates were encouraged, however, that Barron sent out an advisory to poll workers to address it.
Among a scattering of issues that caught the attention of the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office were reports in Columbus of some voters delayed in getting ballots after being told they had already voted. State investigators are looking into that issue and others, but the office said overall, things went smoothly.
In metro Atlanta, a delayed precinct opening and a small electrical fire at separate locations caused officials in DeKalb and Gwinnett counties to briefly extend voting times. Most sites closed at the expected 7 p.m., however. Fulton County officials responded to a few incidents, including complaints at Atlanta's Therrell High School about equipment problems.
“We can say that Fulton County runs good elections,” Barron said. “We’ve improved each election. This is the big test today, and I think we’ve passed.”
That overview came as election officials across the nation faced unprecedented scrutiny. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump had urged supporters to monitor voting with claims that the election would be rigged. Federal officials had also raised alarms over concerns that hackers could create chaos over the Internet or with false reports on Election Night reporting websites.
While those fears did not come to pass in Georgia, the scrutiny seemed to catch at least one public official off-guard.
Mansfield Mayor Jefferson Riley posted and then deleted a Facebook post Tuesday morning that read, "Remember the voting days: Republicans vote on Tuesday, 11/8 and Democrats vote on Wednesday, 11/9." Riley, whose small town is located in Newton County, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he meant it as a joke, saying that "people take things so seriously. You can't joke about anything anymore — especially on social media."
But the damage had been done. By day’s end, the partisan Democratic Coalition against Trump said it filed a complaint with federal officials over the post, saying it was no laughing matter.
Elsewhere, the Georgia NAACP said it had received complaints that Forsyth County’s sheriff’s office had displayed partisan campaign paraphernalia. But Forsyth County Sheriff’s Maj. Rick Doyle said the office hasn’t received any reports of deputies dressed in campaign attire, and that they aren’t allowed to wear political paraphernalia with their uniform.
The AJC on Tuesday participated in Electionland, a ProPublica project that covered access to ballot issues during the election. For more about the project, go to the Electionland website at http://election.land.
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