Georgia breaks record for turnout on first day of early voting

Waiting times of eight hours were recorded at some polling stations on Tuesday

More than 128,000 Georgia residents cast their ballot for 3 November’s election on Monday, in a record for the state on the first day of early voting.

The figure was nearly 40,000 higher than the 91,000 who cast their ballot on the first day of early voting in 2016, as residents waited in hours-long lines to vote, according to the Associated Press.

Election officials and advocacy groups have been urging US residents to vote early this year in-person or via mail-in voting, because of fears of long queues forming on 3 November due to coronavirus measures.

However, some residents were unable to vote on Monday, as several Georgia counties closed their polling stations, due to the federal holiday of Columbus Day.

Effingham County resident Tony Grimes told WTOC-TV that he was frustrated to see other Georgian residents voting, when he was not able to, despite taking a day off work to cast his ballot.

He said: “I see in Chatham County where they're having lines forming for them to go and vote,” and added: “So, they're voting right now, and we aren't able to.”

Walter Jones, the spokesman for the secretary of state's office in Georgia, told the AP that 49 of the state’s 159 counties recorded no votes on Monday, but he was unsure how many of those polling stations were closed.

In Georgia’s most populous county, Fulton County, nearly 20,000 people voted in-person on Monday, which was only second to the last day of early voting in 2016.

Fulton County elections director Rick Barron told reporters that the area expects 30,000 people to vote on 30 October, and urged residents to cast their ballot on other days to avoid long queues.

He also encouraged residents who have applied for absentee ballots to submit them in a drop box instead of voting in-person, as it takes officials longer to process at a polling station as their absentee ballot needs to be cancelled first.

About 1.6 million people had requested absentee ballots in Georgia by Tuesday morning, and of that figure nearly 474,00 had been returned and accepted.

Long queues formed for early voting again on Tuesday, and wait times of up to eight hours were recorded at some polling stations, according to the AP.

As images of long queues circulated on social media, some residents complained that the lines were evidence of voter suppression, and asked for officials to take action.

However, Rick Hasen, an election law professor at the University of California-Irvine, tweeted on Monday night: “Election officials have limited resources — especially during the pandemic.

“Great enthusiasm on the first day of voting leading to long lines does not necessarily mean there's a systemic problem. Let's give it a few days.”

Multiple lawsuits have been filed in Georgia this year that have asked for judges to make changes to prevent voter disenfranchisement.

On Monday, US District Judge Amy Totenberg turned down an order for Georgia polling places to increase the number of emergency paper ballots available in polling stations to allow voting to continue if there are problems with electronic equipment.

A state election board rule says in elections that include a federal race, “a sufficient amount of emergency paper ballots shall be at least 10 per cent of the number of registered voters to a polling place.”

In an order last month, she requested that county election officials and poll workers be trained on using emergency ballots and for polling stations to “maintain a sufficient stock of emergency paper ballots.”

Her ruling on Monday also denied a request for there to be enough emergency paper ballots for 40 per cent of registered voters at every polling station, as she claimed it is the responsibility of state and local election officials.

Residents are able to vote at any polling place in their county in Georgia up until 30 October, but must cast their ballot at their assigned polling station on 3 November.