There seem to be real problems in Fulton County, Georgia with the proper administration of elections. None of these issues were widespread elsewhere in Georgia.
Georgia Secretary of State says the county’s elections board is not
cooperating with his investigation of the county’s management of recent
elections and refuses to turn over requested documents.
Why is Secretary Kemp investigating?
The Secretary of State’s office received 111 complaints about the
county’s management of the Nov. 6 presidential election. The complaints
allege that the department’s mismanagement of the election forced
thousands of voters to use paper ballots and caused long lines which
could have led some voters to leave and not return before casting their
ballots. Many Buckhead voters experienced the long lines and frustration of not being located on their voting precinct’s list of registered voters, forcing them to cast provisional ballots.
On Election Day in November, Fulton County polling sites faced a slew
of problems: outdated voter registration rolls, broken machines and
even power outages. One polling location in south Fulton opened late
because the polling managers there did not have the correct keys to
unlock the voting machines.
This is a reminder that often local problems with long lines and
dysfunctional administration of elections is a local problem, not some
policy issue on the federal or state level or inherent racism. Sometimes it is just incompetent poll workers, lack of training, unreliable voting equipment, and the lack of management skills in local election offices. It is encouraging to
see the Georgia Secretary of State try to bring some sunshine to the failures in the hope that the investigation will identify the
fundamental reasons for the breakdown in Fulton County and provide possible solutions to guarantee clean and competently run elections.