After months of phone calls, campaign ads and insistent knocks on their doors, some voters in Georgia's 6th Congressional District have finally lost their Southern manners.
Local poll workers in two of the district's three suburban counties say they have seen noticeably aggressive behavior among people coming to cast ballots in the runoff election between Republican Karen Handel and Democrat Jon Ossoff.
Among the transgressions being reported to local officials during the runoff’s early voting period are voters wearing campaign paraphernalia and arguing when told to take it off, not getting off their mobile phones when asked to do so, and otherwise barking at poll workers when they’re approached.
The worst behavior appears to be in Fulton County, where officials decided to post retired marshals this week at five of its six early-voting locations as both a precaution and deterrent. The sixth, the county's North Annex in Sandy Springs, is a location that regularly has sheriff's deputies for security.
"It's slightly disturbing that people are losing their civility over voting," said Richard Barron, Fulton's director of registration and elections. "The election is really getting heated. Poll workers are feeling insecure over these incidents. People are being aggressive."
Read more here.
About the Author
