Long lines, technical difficulties with voting machines and under-trained staff were among the many problems Georgia voters faced earlier this month on Primary Tuesday.
On Wednesday’s special edition of “Closer Look,” guests shared their recommendations for improving the process for the November presidential election.
University of California at Irvine Law Professor Richard Hasen told host Rose Scott the pandemic complicated an already challenging process.
“It’s really hard as in Georgia to roll out new voting machines and have new voting rules when it’s not a pandemic, but to try to do so in the midst of a pandemic when everything is being politicized…it’s hard,” he said.
Hasen, who is also the author of “Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust, and the Threat to American Democracy,” said voting during the pandemic was a nation-wide challenge.
“Georgia has been one of the places that’s been of great concern because it didn’t look very good in your primary in terms of peoples’ access to the ballot and ability to be able to cast a vote that’s going to be counted,” he said
Then, later on in the program, Marilyn Marks, election integrity activist and vice president and executive director of the Coalition for Good Governance, detailed concerns she has surrounding Georgia’s new voting machines and cyber-security.
“Unfortunately, in Georgia, the election officials, particularly Secretary Raffensperger and the state election board, are so married to this particular, complex set-up that there is really no way to make it simple enough to work, so I recommend that people vote by mail this time,” she said, in reference to the November election.
Guests:
To listen to the full conversation, click on the audio player above.
