Georgia’s Election Deemed ‘Hot, Flaming Mess’ In A Troubling Preview Of What November Could Bring
Georgia's primary elections were besieged with issues creating long lines of people waiting to vote in the midst of a pandemic. Predominantly black areas experienced some of the worst problems with voting machines. Many watched the events unfold with trepidation as they brace for a general election during another predicted wave of the coronavirus that could potentially be worse than the first. And the RNC eyes Jacksonville, Florida as a potential spot for its national convention.
The New York Times:
Georgia Voting Meltdown Leads To Uproar: ‘I Refuse Not To Be Heard’
Georgia’s statewide primary elections on Tuesday were overwhelmed by a full-scale meltdown of new voting systems put in place after widespread claims of voter suppression during the state’s 2018 governor’s election. Scores of new state-ordered voting machines were reported to be missing or malfunctioning, and hourslong lines materialized at polling places across Georgia. Some people gave up and left before casting a ballot, and concerns spread that the problems would disenfranchise untold voters, particularly African-Americans. Predominantly black areas experienced some of the worst problems. (Fausset, Epstein and Rojas, 6/9)
Reuters:
Long Lines, Voting Machine Problems Fuel Investigations In U.S. State Of Georgia
The missteps in Georgia, which had delayed its primary from March, are likely to raise alarms about how well states will handle voting if the coronavirus is still raging when Republican President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden meet in the Nov. 3 presidential election. Many voters complained of hours-long waits and voting machines that were not operating. Raffensperger said the problems were most acute in metropolitan Atlanta’s Fulton and DeKalb counties, although the Georgia Democratic Party said it received reports of problems “in every corner of the state.” (Whitesides and Cornwell, 6/9)
The Associated Press:
'Chaos In Georgia': Is Messy Primary A November Harbinger?
It raised the specter of a worst-case November scenario: a decisive state, like Florida and its “hanging chads” and “butterfly ballots” in 2000, remaining in dispute long after polls close. Meanwhile, Trump, Biden and their supporters could offer competing claims of victory or question the election’s legitimacy, inflaming an already boiling electorate. “I feel like we’re struggling as a country right now to hear people who really need to be heard,” said Atlanta resident Ross Wakefield, a 28-year-old white software engineer who waited nearly four hours to vote and watched others “peace out and bail” on the line. “This does not give me a lot of confidence that we’re doing that.” (Barrow, 6/10)
The Washington Post:
In Georgia, Primary Day Snarled By Long Lines, Problems With Voting Machines — A Potential Preview Of November
Many new poll workers brought on to replace those who had bowed out because of fears of the virus were unfamiliar with new ballot-marking devices that were deployed statewide for the first time Tuesday, replacing a paperless electronic voting system that a federal judge had declared insecure. Even before the pandemic struck, election security experts had questioned whether officials had enough time to provide adequate training for their use in the primaries. (Gardner, Lee, Willis and Glionna, 6/9)
The Wall Street Journal:
In A Warning For November, Voters Endure Long Lines In Georgia’s Primary Election
“For November, we need to do a much better job of planning for the tens of millions of Americans who are going to be voting in person,” said David Becker, executive director and founder of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, who has been working with the Georgia secretary of state’s office. “We need to offer options for voters.” Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, said Tuesday that his office has opened an investigation into problems in the Atlanta metropolitan area’s Fulton and DeKalb counties to determine how to resolve these issues before November’s election. (Corse, 6/9)
Politico:
‘A Hot, Flaming Mess’: Georgia Primary Beset By Chaos, Long Lines
It took LaTosha Brown three hours to vote at her polling site in Atlanta. Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, said it took her nephew six hours to vote on Friday during early voting hours. “We have got to stop making voting a traumatic damn experience for black voters. Everything has to be a traumatic experience,” said Brown. “The secretary of state needs to resign. ... They always blame it on local officials.” (Montellaro and Barron-Lopez, 6/9)
The Washington Post:
GOP Expects To Move Its Convention To Jacksonville After Dispute With North Carolina Over Pandemic Safeguards
Seeking a city willing to allow a large-scale event amid the coronavirus pandemic, Republicans have tentatively settled on Jacksonville, Fla., as the new destination for the premier festivities of the Republican National Convention in August, according to three Republican officials briefed on the plans. (Linskey and Dawsey, 6/9)
The Hill:
Koch-Backed Ad Campaign Urges Congress To Make Coronavirus Changes Permanent
The political arm for the network of groups led by Charles Koch is putting six-figures behind a new digital campaign ad urging Congress to enshrine into law some of the changes to the health care system that have allowed for greater flexibility for medical professionals during the coronavirus pandemic. The new ad from Americans for Prosperity (AFP), which will run on Facebook for the rest of the month, features Dr. Camille Honesty, an internal medicine specialist from Kansas City who praised the looser restrictions on medical care that she says were a necessity during the pandemic. (Easley, 6/10)
