In-person early voting began in Georgia on Monday and, by the numbers, it’s off to an incredible start. On the first day alone, 69,049 people voted—a massive increase compared to the 20,898 people who participated in the first day of in-person early voting during the last midterm election in 2014. Though more people voting is always a good thing, it has not been without problems. As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, “some early voters in Cobb County had to wait in lines for more than two hours, and others in Fulton County encountered delays because of technical difficulties.”
Unfortunately, today doesn’t look any better, as lines reached a 3 hour estimated wait in Cobb County.
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Early voting is actually supposed to make voting easier for citizens—not more difficult. But we can’t forget that Georgia Republicans are doing their very best to make it harder for people to vote. According to data, the places where people are having the most difficulty with early voting are also the same ones with the most diverse populations. For example, almost 50 percent of the residents in Cobb County, Georgia, are people of color. And in Fulton County, Georgia, 57 percent of the residents are people of color. This is not accidental. In fact, it’s perfectly aligned with what the GOP under Brian Kemp, current secretary of State and candidate for governor, has been doing for years now. In addition to the 53,000 voter registration applications (of mainly black and brown Georgians) that he’s placed on hold and is being sued over, Kemp has purged nearly a million voters from the rolls, more than 700,000 of them in the last year alone. Voter suppression is a strategy that Republicans are banking on to win. And we shouldn’t let them get away with it.
Eligible Georgia residents can early vote in all 159 of the state’s counties. It lasts until November 2. If you are a Georgia voter or know someone who is, you can click here to find out more information on early voting.
And if you have any problems voting in Georgia, you can call the 24 hour/7 day a week voter protection hotline at 888-730-5816.