The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
New machines, same pain for voters across Fulton County
It started bad for Fulton County voters Tuesday and didn’t get much better.
Before the sun rose, it became clear that poll workers were unable to handle the new equipment and voting machines were being delivered late.
That left voters in long lines all day trying to shield themselves from sun and rain.
If there’s an easy way to deploy brand new voting equipment amid a pandemic, Fulton hasn’t found it. Other counties had problems on Tuesday, but none as bad as what was reported in Fulton — home to 10% of all Georgians.
Georgia’s most populated county is now the subject of at least three investigations into its shoddy elections management.
“Everything that could have gone wrong has gone wrong,” Fulton Commission Chairman Robb Pitts said, standing by a snaking line of anxious voters outside an impromptu precinct at Park Tavern. He said the county might need younger
poll workers who can better handle technology.
Pitts said the county’s poor performance has left leadership worried about what could happen during the presidential election in the fall.
“If you think this is bad, the turnout is going to be even greater in November,” Pitts said.
The county announced an hour before the polls were set to close that, because of the issues, Fulton Superior Judge Eric Dunaway had ruled precincts could remain open until 9 p.m.
About then, Fulton County Elections Director Richard Barron answered questions from reporters via Zoom about the county’s performance, and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger blamed counties for issues.
“He can say whatever he wants; I disagree with him,” Barron said. “He can’t wash his hands of all the responsibility for this election.”
This is nothing new. Fulton has a history of late returns along with complaints, fines and ethics violations.
Following the discovery of a backlog of voter registrations in Fulton in 2012, and precincts running out of provisional ballots, a secretary of state running his first presidential election said: “Given the constant and systemic nature of election failures in Fulton County, I think that every option for remediation of Fulton County elections should be on the table moving forward.”
That was current Gov. Brian Kemp.
Fast forward eight years, and officials on Tuesday wasted no time pointing fingers at one another.
The state blames the counties, the counties blame their election boards and election boards blame the state.
Raffensperger launched an investigation of problems in Fulton and DeKalb counties, saying they were “unacceptable.” The secretary of state’s office was already investigating Fulton for how it handled its absentee ballots, some of which never reached voters’ mailboxes despite applications coming in two months ago.
Georgia House Speaker David Ralston ordered an investigation of statewide irregularities in the primary, emphasizing the issues in Fulton.
“Despite the finger pointing, there have been failures at all levels,” according to a letter written by the Fulton legislative delegation. “Poor planning for the surge in absentee balloting, use of new equipment unfamiliar to voters and poll workers and a failure to get absentee ballots delivered to voters before election day have all contributed to what we’re seeing today.
No matter what officials do now, Fulton’s voters had it the worst Tuesday.
Brittany Westveer, 26, waited five hours to cast her ballot at Lang Carson Recreation Center in Reynoldstown.
“It was incredibly frustrating,” she said.
Westveer said she heard her precinct had issues with machines earlier in the day, but they all appeared to be working when she got inside. She said poll workers were not directing voters, and that no one had talked to voters in line during the five-hour wait. She also said she was not offered a provisional ballot.
Several lunchtime voters at the North Fulton Service Center in Sandy Springs said they had a good experience with the new voting machines.
One was David Scheuer, who said poll workers provided an additional room in case of rain so people wouldn’t have to wait outside.
“Everyone was distanced pretty well,” he said. “The floor was marked for social distancing. They had hand sanitizer strategically placed.”
Fulton County Commissioner Liz Hausmann, who represents part of North Fulton, said it took her 2 hours and 40 minutes to vote at the Johns Creek Environmental Campus due to technical issues.
Hausmann said poll workers called for technical help but weren’t able to get through.
She has been vocal about the absentee ballot backlog issue that Fulton has struggled to fix. It forced many people to vote in person, even though they applied for a mail-in ballots months ago.
Hausmann hoped the $15 million that the county budgeted for elections would be enough for a smooth process – but that was before the coronavirus pandemic.
“What would have been the magic number? We gave them everything they asked for,” she said.
Commissioners have said they only fund elections, while the board of elections runs them. When asked what could be done before the November election, Hausmann said it is highly unusual to change management in the middle of an election season.
A county spokesman said Richard Barron, Fulton’s current director of registration and elections, was too busy Tuesday to be interviewed.
“We have management problems; I don’t know how you (could) say otherwise,” said Hausmann, a Republican.
Across the political aisle, Fulton Commissioner Joe Carn agreed with the assessment of Barron’s performance.
“We need to hold him accountable,” said Carn, who is running for reelection this cycle.
When asked about whether it would be wise to add a new elections chief to the list of things going on, Carn said: “Well, you couldn’t be much worse.”