Voters wait in line at a precinct in Cobb County on May 18, 2020. (Photo by Beau Evans)
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is urging voters to cast ballots by mail rather than in person for the June 9 primary election as the start of early voting this week drew long lines and wait times at many precincts.
Polls opened Monday across the state for the three-week early voting period ahead of the primary election, which was delayed from March 24 and May 18 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Precincts have already seen long lines despite relatively small turnout with voters forced to keep their distance from each other and spend time canceling absentee ballots they requested since they are voting in person.
The small sample size of early voters has state and county election officials gearing up for potential precinct challenges that may lie ahead in the upcoming June 9 primary, even as Georgia is poised for historic levels of mail-in voting.
Raffensperger and several county election officials asked voters Wednesday to consider taking the absentee-ballot route, either by sending their ballot in the mail or putting it in temporary drop-off boxes that counties have set up.
Doing so would help relieve Election-Day pressure for volunteer poll workers, many of whom are older adults more vulnerable to health risks from coronavirus, officials said. It would also cut down the amount of time voters spend waiting next to each other in line.
“Considering the health risks posed by COVID-19, Georgians should seriously consider submitting an absentee ballot by mail for the June 9 elections,” Raffensperger said in a statement Wednesday.
“While we understand the Georgia tradition of in-person voting and look forward to returning to normal in-person voting in future elections, the extra precautions necessary to preserve voter and poll worker health during the pandemic will result in long wait times and an increased health risk that could be avoided through absentee ballots for this election,” Raffensperger added.
Raffensperger’s office also announced Wednesday the state has purchased 35,000 reusable face masks and 30,000 bottles of hand sanitizer that will be sent to county election offices.
Nearly 1.5 million Georgians to date have requested absentee ballots for the primary, a figure much larger than the roughly 223,000 mail-in ballots cast in the high-turnout 2018 gubernatorial election. Of those, county election officials have already collected about 400,000 completed absentee ballots.
The push by Raffensperger for more voters to choose mail-in ballots comes despite President Donald Trump bashing the method Wednesday, calling it ripe for voter fraud. The president threatened to withhold federal funds for Michigan after that state – like Georgia – began sending absentee-ballot request forms to all its registered voters.
Raffensperger announced in mid-March that his office would send absentee ballot request forms to Georgia’s roughly 6.9 million voters. He has also created an advisory group for mail-in voter fraud, though critics have blasted that move as voter intimidation and unnecessary due to the lack of evidence of widespread absentee voter fraud in the state.
Voters wait in line at a precinct in Cobb County on May 18, 2020. (Photo by Beau Evans)
Early voting for the June 9 primary in Georgia started Monday amid ongoing safety concerns stemming from the coronavirus pandemic coupled with close scrutiny over how the state’s new voting machines perform.
On the ballot are elections for federal, state and local offices plus the presidential preference primary, which has twice been delayed since its original March 24 date due to coronavirus. The general election will be held on Nov. 3. Runoffs, if needed, would be held on Aug. 11.
More than 40 sitting state lawmakers running for reelection in the General Assembly have drawn primary opponents. And several of the state’s 13 congressional seats are being hotly contested by Republican and Democratic candidates in metro Atlanta and North Georgia.
The three-week early voting period comes as county election officials roll out sanitizing and social-distancing measures aimed at reducing coronavirus risks in precincts, such as by cleaning ballot machines with sanitizing wipes and spreading out voters waiting in line.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Monday local precincts are spacing voters six feet apart while in line and providing poll workers with masks and gloves. Voters are being urged but not required to wear masks, Raffensperger said.
Precincts are also giving voters stylus pens to make ballot selections on touchscreens that are wiped before and after each use, Raffensperger said. Hand sanitizer is also available at precincts.
Raffensperger said he feels confident precincts will be ready to receive larger crowds on June 9 for Election Day.
“They’ll make it happen,” Raffensperger said Monday. “It’ll be a victory. It might be a rough one, but at the end of the day it will be a victory. People that want to vote will be able to vote.”
Early voting for the June 9 primary also will mark one of the first statewide uses of the new $104 million voting machines, which involve touchscreens and scanners that record a paper print-out of a voter’s completed ballot. The old machines in use since 2002 have been scrapped over cybersecurity issues.
State officials hail the new machines as more secure than the old all-electronic machines, while many critics have continued pushing through federal lawsuits for entirely paper ballots.
Purchased last July from Dominion Voting Systems, the new machines were on a tight timeline to roll out ahead of the March 24 presidential preference primary and saw a handful of glitches during a six-county test run last November.
Raffensperger said the new machines “are working great” just as they did for a shortened early-voting period that took place ahead of the then-scheduled March 24 presidential preference primary.
Beyond the new machines, coronavirus has upended the normal voting process in Georgia in ways that have spurred a huge push for absentee ballots and litigation aimed at delaying in-person voting.
As of Monday, Raffensperger said county officials had collected about 300,000 absentee ballots out of the nearly 1.5 million ballots requested statewide, a figure already dwarfing the roughly 223,000 mail-in ballots cast in the high-turnout 2018 gubernatorial election.
Last week, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit seeking to delay the primary again to the end of June and for officials to shelve the new touchscreens in favor of paper ballots. The suit argued the screens cannot be cleaned often enough to prevent coronavirus transmissions at precincts.
Meanwhile, dozens of state lawmakers seeking reelection to the General Assembly have been handcuffed by rules preventing them from campaign fundraising while the legislature remains suspended until later next month – even as their primary challengers have been allowed to raise cash.
The fundraising prohibition has not affected candidates for high-profile congressional races, particularly for both of Georgia’s U.S. Senate seats.
Roughly a half-dozen Democratic candidates vying for the seat held by U.S. Sen. David Perdue, a Republican, will be on the primary ballot. The primary pits several high-profile Democratic challengers including Sarah Riggs Amico, Jon Ossoff and Teresa Tomlinson.
Heated primary contests are also being held in the 6th, 7th, 11th and 13th congressional districts in metro Atlanta; the 9th Congressional District in Northeast Georgia; and the 14th Congressional District in Northwest Georgia.
The state’s other U.S. Senate contest for U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s seat will not be on the June 9 primary ballot since it is being held as a free-for-all open election between candidates of all parties on Nov. 3.
Rep. Patty Bentley tests out a new voting machine during a demonstration at the Georgia State Fair. (Secretary of State’s office)
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to postpone the June 9 primary election in Georgia until the end of this month and require state election officials to boost sanitizing procedures.
The suit, filed last month by a group of voters and advocates often at odds with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, argued election officials were not prepared to hold an election amid ongoing safety and health concerns over coronavirus. It asked the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia to push the election back to June 30.
The suit also urged Judge Timothy Batten Sr. to force the state to scrap its new touchscreens for the primary in favor of all-paper ballots, which opponents of the new machines have sought in prior litigation.
In his ruling Thursday, Batten said the court should steer clear of the issue on grounds it could lead to improper political interference in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
“Absent [clear] proof provided by the plaintiffs that a political question is not at issue, courts should not substitute their own judgments for the state election codes,” Batten wrote.
The ruling comes ahead of the early voting period for the primary that is set to start Monday. It also comes as absentee ballots continue pouring in to county election offices in what is shaping up to be the biggest vote-by-mail tally for an election in Georgia history.
County offices have collected more than 250,000 absentee ballots so far out of nearly 1.4 billion ballots that have been requested statewide, Raffensperger’s office said. That number already dwarfs the roughly 223,000 mail-in ballots voters cast in the high-turnout 2018 gubernatorial election.
In a statement Friday, Raffensperger said the lawsuit’s dismissal will let election officials concentrate on gearing up for in-person voting, including efforts to distribute protective and sanitizing equipment for county election boards. He called the dismissal a warning shot for other groups like the American Civil Liberties Union challenging his office’s work toward holding the primary during the pandemic.
“I hope that the other groups who have asserted these same claims in other lawsuits will see the error of their ways, stop wasting taxpayer dollars, and drop their lawsuits,” Raffensperger said.
Marilyn Marks, executive director of the Coalition for Good Governance that brought the suit, said the group is weighing possible next steps like appeal. She disagreed with Batten’s hands-off approach, arguing voter-rights issues spurred by coronavirus are exactly the type of matters in which judges and the court should weigh in.
“We need the court to intervene and bring some relief or else we are going to continue to see a chaotic handling of the election,” Marks said Friday. “It’s just going to get worse.”
Republican candidates for a congressional seat in Northwest Georgia took turns Monday touting their similar conservative views and pouncing on supposed weak spots in each other’s backgrounds during a debate ahead of the June 9 primary.
In all, nine Republican candidates have signed up for the race to replace outgoing U.S. Rep. Tom Graves, a Republican, who announced late last year that he will not seek re-election. He has held the 14th District seat since first winning election in 2010.
The reliably Republican district stretches from Paulding and Haralson counties north through Rome, Calhoun and Dalton to the Tennessee line.
Of the nine Republican candidates, eight appeared in Monday’s debate hosted by the Atlanta Press Club. They alternated between praise for President Donald Trump and his administration’s policies, disdain for congressional Democrats and a handful of jabs at each other.
The race has also drawn one Democratic candidate, Kevin Van Ausdal, an implementation specialist. Van Ausdal did not participate in the primary debate because he is the only Democratic candidate.
The Debate
Without much daylight between them in terms of policies and values, some of the Republican candidates took to attacking each other’s records.
John Barge, a former Georgia state school superintendent, singled out Marjorie Taylor Greene’s decision to back out of the 6th District congressional race earlier this year and enter the 14th District contest. Barge labeled Greene an “opportunist”.
“I think you’re running to get to Washington,” Barge said.
Greene, a construction company owner, stressed that her staunchly conservative values align with many of the district’s voters and touted endorsements from influential members of Congress like U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
“I’m 100% pro-life, 100% pro-gun, and I’m the strongest supporter of President Trump and always have been,” Greene said.
Greene then attacked Barge for implementing federal Common Core education standards while serving as state superintendent. He batted back the criticism, saying he was ordered to do so by the state Board of Education despite not supporting the program.
Barge also said he supports ending federal oversight of schools by abolishing the U.S. Department of Education and handing authority over education matters and funding to states.
“I think giving states the flexibility to direct those funds in the way they need them is the way to go,” Barge said.
John Cowan, a neurosurgeon who owns a toy shop, was criticized by some candidates for buying products made in China and not in Northwest Georgia. Cowan defended his business practices, saying he has experience negotiating with Chinese manufacturers.
“I’ve been tougher on China than anyone on this panel because I’ve actually engaged them,” Cowan said.
Matt Laughridge, a businessman, drew a line in the sand by saying that he thinks “personally, we should cut off China, not team up with them.”
“If you’re sick of seeing ‘Made in China’ on everything, elect me,” Laughridge said.
Bill Hembree, a former state House representative, was blunt about Cowan.
“You’re getting rich off China,” said Hembree, who also noted he supports term limits.
Cowan also said he favors moves to reopen local economies emerging from the coronavirus pandemic amid his background in the medical field and that there needs to be a balance between science and economic needs.
“We have to reopen our economy and preserve our freedoms and meld the two together,” Cowan said.
Greene also said she backs calls by Trump and Gov. Brian Kemp to reopen many local businesses, describing efforts to reopen local economies as “the greatest stimulus.”
“I believe more than anything that we need to save our economy and stop socialism,” Greene said.
For his part, Hembree touted his experience in the Georgia House of Representatives, noting that he decided to run for Congress to back Trump amid opposition from congressional Democrats.
“We need to save this country and we need to save the future,” Hembree said.
State Rep. Kevin Cooke, R-Carrollton, also highlighted his General Assembly experience as an asset setting him apart from his competitors, particularly as congressional and state lawmakers deal with the current economic fallout of COVID-19.
“It very much highlights the difference between my candidacy and my opponents’ candidacy,” said Cooke, noting he would support requiring the federal government to have a balanced budget.
Andy Gunther, a retired U.S. Marine and businessman, was among several candidates who advocated for a balanced budget. He said his business experience would go a long way toward righting financial troubles at the federal level.
“A lot of the solutions to the problems that we have in the federal government are business solutions,” Gunther said.
Ben Bullock, a real estate investor and U.S. Air Force veteran, urged conservatives to oppose moves by many Democratic leaders to provide universal health-care coverage especially amid coronavirus, framing such efforts as “authoritarian behavior on the left.”
“To me, it is a total privilege,” Bullock said.
Bullock also echoed other candidates in calling for U.S. troops to return from the war in Afghanistan.
“It’s a fight that is now [Afghanistan’s] and not ours anymore and that needs to be reflected in our national security policy,” Bullock said.
Clayton Fuller, a prosecutor and U.S. Air Force veteran, did not participate in Monday’s debate because he was deployed with the Air National Guard to assist with the coronavirus response.
U.S. Rep. David Scott did not participate in a primary debate Monday to defend himself against a trio of Democratic challengers, who slammed the longtime congressman for his absence.
Scott, also a Democrat, is running for his 10th consecutive term representing Georgia’s 13th Congressional District, which covers parts of several suburban counties south and west of Atlanta including Clayton, Henry, Douglas and Cobb counties. He has held the reliably Democratic seat since his first election in 2002.
Democratic candidates devoted much of the debate to questioning which may be more qualified to unseat Scott. Also attending the debate were two Republican challengers who tackled economic issues.
The debate Monday was hosted by the Atlanta Press Club. It came ahead of the June 9 primary.
The Democrats
A glaring hole in Monday’s 13th District debate was Scott, who was not on hand to defend himself against attacks on his record.
His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on why he did not participate in the debate.
Michael Owens, a cybersecurity consultant who formerly chaired the Cobb County Democratic Party, criticized Scott for not holding public meetings with constituents and for residing outside the district.
“I think it’s important that as an elected official you be accessible and accountable to people in your district,” said Owens, who also backed Medicare-for-all plans.
Beyond Scott, the three candidates challenged each other’s ability to work well with Republican counterparts in Congress and addressed the widening divide between moderate and progressive factions in the Democratic Party.
Jannquell Peters, an attorney and former mayor of East Point who supports raising the federal minimum wage, said Democratic leaders are not so far apart on issues like health care and insurance as many Republican opponents claim.
“I think it is going to take an awful lot of education on the part of Democrats and people interested in moving our communities forward,” Peters said.
Keisha Waites, a consultant and former state House lawmaker, said she also supports broadening health insurance coverage but stopped short of endorsing any single-payer proposals.
“I do believe fundamentally that universal health care should be an American right,” Waites said.
All three candidates agreed expanding health insurance coverage ranks among the top issues going forward this election cycle, especially as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic continues to sicken Georgians.
The Republicans
Republican candidates stuck mostly with economic issues like how to bolster small businesses, particularly amid the downturn prompted by coronavirus.
Becky Hites, a steel industry consultant, touted her track record as a longtime business owner who has worked with corporate clients and describes herself as a “Trumplican.”
“Because I have Wall Street experience, I know how to bring in business,” Hites said.
Caesar Gonzales, a mechanic and motorcycle racer who said he opposes absentee voting, stressed the need for more training in new technologies to improve job skills.
“I think we need more jobs skills training in our working environment in order to be able to better compete in this technology-driven world,” Gonzales said.
The two Republican candidates also addressed challenges in swaying voters in the traditionally Democratic district, support for gun ownership rights and opposition to easing immigration restrictions.
Republican candidates sought to distinguish themselves in the crowded race for the 9th Congressional District in Georgia during a debate Sunday ahead of the June 9 primary election.
Their opinions ranged from lauding President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic to attacking each other’s background and voting records in the General Assembly. Many of the Republican candidates also highlighted their strong support for gun rights.
Meanwhile, a handful of Democratic contenders for the seat in the staunchly Republican district also weighed in with their views Sunday, diving into policy preferences on changes to health insurance and increasing the federal minimum wage.
The heavily Republican 9th District, which covers northeastern Georgia from Gainesville to Athens, is up in the air following the decision by current seat holder U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, a Republican, to run for U.S. Senate.
The Republicans
Hosted by the Atlanta Press Club, the debate Sunday drew eight of the nine Republican candidates. They largely alternated between praising and attacking each other during Sunday’s debate, while often calling for restrictions on businesses prompted by coronavirus to end.
State lawmakers running for the seat also sought to differentiate themselves from each other and the crowded pack.
State Rep. Matt Gurtler, who is known at the Georgia Capitol for voting against bills more often than other lawmakers, defended his approach as a limiting influence on the scope of government.
“It’s the natural proclivity of government to grow unless people and good conservatives stand up and draw a line in the sand and say enough’s enough,” said Gurtler, R-Tiger.
Gurtler then pressed his Georgia House colleague and competitor in the 9th District, Rep. Kevin Tanner, over legislation Tanner filed in the General Assembly to raise money for public transit in rural areas via levies on ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft.
Tanner, R-Dawsonville, batted back the criticism with a jab at Gurtler, stating that “there are some anarchists who believe there is no role for any government.”
“This is not government spending,” Tanner said. “It’s an investment.”
Tanner then singled out former U.S. Rep. Paul Broun over the conviction of his former chief of staff on obstruction charges in 2018 stemming from an ethics investigation into campaign finance issues.
Broun, who was never charged with any wrongdoing, accused Tanner of taking a cheap shot. Separately, Broun also called for Georgians to use “common sense” when returning to work amid coronavirus.
“I believe that people should do what’s necessary to keep themselves from getting coronavirus, the flu or anything else for that matter,” Broun said.
State Sen. John Wilkinson, R-Toccoa, highlighted his support for farmers who have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. He defended a bill pending in the General Assembly that aims to boost lawsuit protections for Georgia farmers but which critics have called too generous for large, nuisance-prone agricultural operations.
“I think the coronavirus outbreak has shown us the importance of Georgia-grown products,” Wilkinson said.
Beyond coronavirus, Ethan Underwood, an attorney and former Forsyth County GOP chair, highlighted his views on health care centered on easing rules for employer-provided insurance plans and restrictions on purchasing out-of-state insurance options.
“What we need to do is de-couple our health-care system from employers,” Underwood said.
The issue of gun rights also figured prominently in the debate, with several candidates weighing in to show their support for firearm protections. Kellie Weeks, a gun store owner, appeared in the virtual debate in front of a rack of weapons hanging on a wall behind her.
Asked about her experience in the pandemic, Weeks said her customers have been experiencing long delays in background checks when seeking to purchase guns lately.
“I would definitely put that in place that you cannot do that again,” Weeks said. “That’s some bad policy right there.”
Andrew Clyde, who on Sunday referred to the ongoing pandemic as the “Chinese coronavirus pandemic,” said he would push to undo federal background-check requirements and waiting periods under the 1993 Brady Act.
“It turns a constitutional right into a privilege granted by a corrupt department of the government,” said Clyde, a U.S. Navy veteran who also owns a gun store.
Michael Boggus, a crane operator, said he wants permitting requirements loosened for gun owners to allow them to more easily travel across state lines with their firearms.
“We shouldn’t be allowed to be told where we can and can’t go with our firearms,” Boggus said.
The Democrats
Georgia’s Democratic Party fielded far fewer candidates for the traditionally Republican-voting 9th District. The three Democratic hopefuls for the district seat touched on issues including health care, immigration reform and the challenges of overcoming strong local support for Republicans.
Some of the candidates diverged on their proposals for changing health insurance plans. Devin Pandy, an actor and U.S. Army veteran, said he supports universal health care but favors allowing people to keep their private insurance plans if they want.
“I believe that those things should go hand-in-hand so that everyone has a choice for the health care that suits them and their families,” Pandy said.
The candidates also highlighted economic issues in Hall County, which hosts the state’s important poultry industry and a growing Latino community. Dan Wilson, a retired reverend, said giving immigrant residents a clearer path to lawful residency would help strengthen the local economy.
“We can increase legal immigration and take care of some of the economic stresses that are being caused,” Wilson said.
Brooke Siskin, a small business owner, said she would push for raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour to ease financial burdens for struggling workers and incentivize productivity.
“We need to have a $15 minimum wage,” Siskin said. “Our cost of living has skyrocketed.”
