ATLANTA, Ga. — Local election chiefs across Georgia say they are prepared to run the Nov. 3 midterm, but many are still worried about slow mail, threats aimed at their workers and tight budgets, according to a report U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock released Wednesday.
Warnock’s office interviewed election administrators in 10 counties chosen to reflect a mix of geography and politics, including counties whose commissions are led by Democrats, by Republicans and by nonpartisan boards. Every one of them said they felt ready, and on a 10-point scale their average self-rating came to 8.8.
Staffing was a bright spot. Most counties said recruiting and training poll workers had gone well. One administrator reported thousands of applications, more than there were jobs to fill, and another said the county had extra workers to lend to its neighbors.
Safety was a darker theme. In six counties, poll workers or staff had fielded threatening phone calls, bomb threats or some other form of intimidation. Counties have answered with added security, training on how to calm confrontations and closer work with local police, along with backup plans for power failures, storms and polling-place disruptions.
Mail voting drew the most practical complaints. Six administrators named absentee ballots as a likely trouble spot, pointing to ballots that arrive late or go missing, and three said mail from their counties is routed out of state for processing. Several plan to pick ballots up at local post offices instead of waiting for delivery. Some said the state’s 2021 election law, SB 202, left voters less time to receive and return absentee ballots.
According to the report, more federal money would help counties them hire seasonal staff, replace equipment, make polling places more accessible and prepare for emergencies. Warnock, a Democrat, wants Congress to put money into the Election Security Grant program run by the Election Assistance Commission and to approve two voting bills, the Freedom to Vote Act along with the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
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