Early Voting For Presidential Primary Race Begins In Georgia
Early voting for the presidential primary election starts Monday, Feb. 8.
Chris Ferguson / wabe
Early voting for the presidential primary race started Monday. Several Atlanta counties have expanded early voting options — adding more locations and increasing hours. Fulton County has made some big changes this year due to some past problems.
Georgia’s secretary of state’s office launched an investigation in 2012 after numerous complaints about problems at Fulton County polling stations. The issues ranged from voters not showing up on the rolls to long lines to equipment malfunctions.
Fulton paid a $180,000 fine and agreed to make changes. Fulton elections director Richard Barron says, for starters, the county is opening 24 early voting locations this year, compared to three in 2014.
“It’ll change a lot of the problems you have on Election Day in a large county,” Barron says. “The lines will be shorter on Election Day. If you vote early, you get to choose where and when you want to vote.”
On Election Day, of course, voters have to go to their assigned precinct. Barron says voting early could also cut down on the number of provisional — or pending — ballots the county has to process.
“[In 2012], there were a lot of provisional ballots, especially in precincts where there are heavy [college] student populations. Many students are registered to vote at home. So, if they’re here and they’re registered to vote in another state, they need to vote by absentee wherever they live.”
In addition to expanding early voting options, Barron says Fulton has also increased training for poll workers and upgraded voting technology.
The early voting period ends Feb. 26.
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