Voting Problems Reported in Candler Park, Other Precincts

Kate Sandhaus of the Candler Park Neighborhood Association reported that her organization received numerous reports from local voters that the ballots they were given listed the race for Atlanta City Council District 5 instead of the correct District 2 race.  

Kwanza Hall is running unopposed for the City Council District 2 post, but the District 5 post has five candidates running for the position.

Ken Edelstein, a former Creative Loafing editor, was one of the early morning voters.  He told WABE he had to push election officials to look into the problem.

Edelstein:  “My wife got the wrong ballot, and had she not known, she would have voted incorrectly.  Somebody else who I know came up at about 10:30, got the wrong ballot, he didn’t know.  He voted wrong.  And I’m sure there are many, many more than that.  The frustrating thing here is that, here we are, four hours later, something like that, and people are still getting the wrong ballot.”

One of the candidates for the District 5 post, Christian Enterkin, told WABE’s Denis O’Hayer she doesn’t know how many of her supporters gave up without voting, and she now questions the entire election.

“I will seek legal action if this is not remedied appropriately,” Enterkin said.

When asked how she thought this might be remedied, Enterkin added, “Potentially a special election or a new election.  An accurate election—that’s what I wish.”

Enterkin wasn’t the only candidate to visit Epworth.  The rivals for the citywide post 2 council seat, Aaron Watson and Mary Norwood appeared.  Former councilwoman Mary Norwood had sat on the Fulton County Election Board until her recent resignation to run for council.  She said the seeds of the Epworth problem were sown after she left.

Norwood: “We did authorize new polling places.  But I was gone before the cards were to come out and any of that was to happen.  I know they worked very, very hard to try to get it right.  When you are that … when it’s been that mishandled for that long, it is very difficult to have a smooth election.  But we are all very hopeful that this is the anomaly.”

Norwood’s opponent, incumbent Councilman Aaron Watson, said he wanted answers…but wasn’t sure exactly how it happened.

Watson: “People ought to be able to rely on the process and ought to have confidence—both the voters and the folks getting elected.  So I hope somebody gets to the bottom of it fast, I really do.   Was it just confusion over the lines?  Well, we’ve been worried about the way Fulton County was preparing for this for a while, to be perfectly honest, so it makes me nervous as a general matter.”

Voters required to fill out provisional ballots due to the confusion included State Senator Jason Carter and his wife Kate. Carter said he assumed some voters went ahead and voted in the wrong races without realizing it. 

Carter: “At this point, I think it’s impossible to know how many people voted on an incorrect ballot.  I guess we can go back after the fact, and make some determinations, but it’s going to be important to get the facts together and then see if it’s going to impact the outcome.”

The Fulton County Department of Registrations and Elections has issued the following statement regarding these voting irregularities:

The Department of Registration & Elections has received reports of an issue related to Atlanta precincts 02H and 02I. For this municipal election, these precincts were assigned to vote at Epworth Methodist Church in the city of Atlanta.  Some voters at this location have experienced precinct assignment issues for Atlanta School Board races. 

The Department of Registration & Elections  is working with DeKalb County and Kennesaw State University’s Center for Election Systems to identify the source of this issue. In the meantime, this location has been provided with additional provisional ballots to accommodate any voters who were affected by this issue. Each provisional ballot will be counted as provided by law. Any voter who feels they have an incorrect ballot should notify a poll worker immediately, before casting their ballot.

Polls will remain open until 7 p.m. in all locations except the city of Atlanta, which will remain open until 8 p.m.

Later in the day, Fulton County elections director Richard Barron said, for some voters, what’s done is done.

Barron:  “What happened is, any voter that was in 2-I was being issued a 5-P ballot.  If somebody voted without notifying a poll worker, unfortunately there are no do-overs.”

Barron said it’s up to voters to notify poll workers if they suspect they’ve been handed incorrect ballots.