Elections officials in Georgia are preparing for long lines and slow results in Tuesday’s primaries as poll closures and coronavirus restrictions complicate in-person voting and counties grapple with processing a huge increase in paper ballots received by mail.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Monday that voters should expect to face lines. He also said his office won’t begin to release partial results until “the last precinct has closed.” And he predicted that the winners may not be known for days thereafter.
During the last day of early voting, some polls in Atlanta’s Fulton County were forced to stay open past midnight Friday to accommodate people waiting for hours through intermittent downpours of rain.
“It’s going to be a different election day than we’ve ever seen. We are still in the grips, albeit a loosening one, of COVID-19,” Raffensperger said during a news conference. “Fewer people will be able to be in the room voting than we used to see, due to social distancing. Time between use of the machines will be longer because of disinfecting protocols.”