This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/06/us/politics/voting-issues-election-day-georgia.html

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Voting Problems Surface as Americans Go to the Polls Voting Problems Surface as Americans Go to the Polls
(about 3 hours later)
From closed polling sites to malfunctioning machines, Election Day brought frustration for some voters in a contest shadowed by questions about the security and fairness of the electoral system. From closed polling sites to malfunctioning machines, Election Day brought frustration for some voters in contests shadowed by questions about the security and fairness of the electoral system.
In Gwinnett County, Ga., four precincts — out of 156 — suffered prolonged technical delays, while some voting machines in South Carolina lacked power or devices needed to activate them. In Gwinnett County, Ga., four precincts — out of 156 — suffered prolonged technical delays, while some voting machines in South Carolina lacked power or the devices needed to activate them. There was also some confusion in Allegheny County, Pa., which includes Pittsburgh, where at least four polling places were changed in the last two days.
There was also confusion in Allegheny County, Pa., which includes Pittsburgh, where at least four polling places were changed in the last two days. Voters who went to a polling place in Chandler, Ariz., a Phoenix suburb, found the doors locked and a legal notice announcing that the building had been closed overnight for failure to pay rent. (Officials later reopened the location.) In Houston, a worker was removed from a polling site and faced an assault charge amid a racially charged dispute with a voter, The Houston Chronicle reported.
And in Chandler, Ariz., a Phoenix suburb, voters who went to a polling place in the Gila precinct found the doors locked and a legal notice stating that the building had been closed overnight for failure to pay rent. (Officials later reopened the location.) Problems with casting ballots are a regular feature of Election Day, and making sense of them could take days and weeks. But the number of calls to voting hotlines maintained by a collection of advocacy groups quickly outpaced those received in the last midterm election of 2014.
Problems with casting ballots are a regular feature of Election Day, and making sense of the number of problems reported will take days and weeks. But the number of calls to voting hotlines maintained by a collection of advocacy groups quickly outpaced those received in the last midterm election of 2014. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a nonprofit group that oversees 20 election call centers, said that as of 5 p.m. Tuesday it had received 24,000 phone calls, compared with 14,000 at the same time four years ago.
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a nonprofit that oversees 20 election call centers, said that as of noon Tuesday it had received close to 12,000 phone calls, more than double the volume four years ago. Four states — Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Texas — stood out as particularly problematic, said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee.
Four states — Georgia, Florida, Texas and Arizona — stood out by early afternoon as particularly problematic, said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee. [Get live election analysis and follow live results for the House of Representatives and the Senate, along with our election forecasts]
In Georgia, the state’s elections system had already been a highly contentious issue during the campaign between Stacey Abrams, the Democratic candidate for governor, and Brian Kemp, her Republican opponent, who is also the secretary of state and thus the state’s chief elections administrator. Any issues experienced this year are more likely to jangle an electorate already unnerved by the fraught 2016 election, whose aftermath has been picked over amid concerns of Russian interference and President Trump’s repeated warnings, without evidence, of widespread voter fraud.
Ms. Abrams has accused Mr. Kemp and his allies of trying to suppress the vote through overzealous interpretations of state laws and procedures. Mr. Kemp has argued that he is simply trying to make it “hard to cheat,” and he has called allegations of voter suppression a “farce.” Tensions have also been exacerbated amid a fierce battle over how easily Americans can register, vote early and gain access to polling sites. Election experts point to declining enforcement of rights for minority voters since the Supreme Court struck down the core of the 1965 Voting Rights Act five years ago.
Although there were long lines at some polling places, other Georgia voters moved in and out with ease, casting their ballots during stops that lasted maybe 15 minutes. Various problems led to extended hours at locations in several states. In Texas, a judge ordered nine polling locations in Harris County to remain open an extra hour after civil rights organizations complained. A coalition of groups was seeking the same in Maricopa County, Ariz. And, in Georgia, a local judge kept several sites in Gwinnett County open, including the Annistown Elementary School, where voting was extended by more than two hours.
Mr. Kemp said Tuesday afternoon, “It’s been very smooth all day long,” adding: “We’re getting the normal questions of people calling asking where do they go vote, are they registered. Nothing unusual at all.” A handful of precincts were also held open for several hours in Fulton County, which includes much of Atlanta. One of the precincts was Forbes Arena, which hosted a rally last Friday featuring Ms. Abrams and former President Barack Obama.
Georgia’s elections system was a highly contentious issue during the campaign between Stacey Abrams, the Democrat who was seeking to become the first African-American woman elected governor in any state, and Brian Kemp, her Republican opponent, who is also the secretary of state and thus the state’s chief elections administrator.
Ms. Abrams and her allies accused Mr. Kemp of trying to suppress the vote through overzealous interpretations of state laws and procedures. Mr. Kemp argued that he was simply trying to make it “hard to cheat,” and called accusations of voter suppression a “farce.”
Although long lines were reported at some polling places, other Georgia voters moved in and out with ease. “It’s been very smooth all day long,” Mr. Kemp said Tuesday afternoon, adding: “We’re getting the normal questions of people calling asking where do they go vote, are they registered. Nothing unusual at all.”
But some Georgia voters had a much different experience.But some Georgia voters had a much different experience.
At Annistown Elementary School in Snellville, Ga., in Gwinnett County, voters reported standing in line for hours as poll workers tried to resolve a problem with the voting machines. At Annistown Elementary School in Snellville, Ga., in Gwinnett County, voters reported standing in line for hours amid problems with voting machines.
One voter, Ontaria Woods, said it took her nearly five hours to vote after arriving around 7 a.m., when the polls opened. After about 30 to 45 minutes, poll workers alerted those standing in line to an issue with the ExpressPoll voting machines, she said. Technicians arrived, but they could not sort out the problem, either. One resident, Ontaria Woods, said it took her nearly five hours to vote after arriving around 7 a.m., when the polls opened. After about 30 to 45 minutes, poll workers alerted those standing in line to an issue with the ExpressPoll voting machines, she said.
“People were not surprised,” she said. “Of course, the term ‘voter suppression’ was used many, many times.”“People were not surprised,” she said. “Of course, the term ‘voter suppression’ was used many, many times.”
Several voters declined provisional ballots after worrying that they would not be counted until after Election Day, she said. As the morning wore on, some people gave up and some left to buy food and water from a Walmart. Several voters declined provisional ballots after worrying that they would not be counted, she said, and some left to buy food and water from a Walmart. The machines were finally fixed around 11 a.m., and Ms. Woods cast her ballot about 45 minutes later before heading to work — hours late.
The machines were finally fixed around 11 a.m., Ms. Woods said. She cast her ballot about 45 minutes later and then headed to work — hours late for her job. Gwinnett, a rapidly diversifying patchwork of suburbs near Atlanta, has long been a Republican stronghold, but Hillary Clinton carried the county in 2016.
Gwinnett, a rapidly diversifying patchwork of suburbs near Atlanta, has long been a Republican stronghold, but Hillary Clinton carried the county in 2016. Just more than half of the county’s residents are white, and about a fifth are Hispanic or Latino. A spokesman for the county government, Joe Sorenson, said the four problematic precincts reported issues with the system that creates voter access cards for Georgia’s electronic polling system. A judge extended hours at several locations in the county, including one that was to remain open until 9:25 p.m., well past the planned 7 p.m. close.
Joe Sorenson, a spokesman for the county government, said the four problematic precincts reported issues with the system that creates voter access cards for Georgia’s electronic polling system. At the three where problems lingered at midmorning, people were being allowed to cast paper ballots. At the county’s request, a judge extended polling at one location. Bradford Berry, the general counsel of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said, “We need to make sure that the machines that are breaking down in Georgia are not in certain parts of town, and not in others.”
“We’ve got people who are voting with the paper ballots, and we’ve got people who are standing to wait for the machines to be fixed, and we’ve got people who said they are planning to come back,” Mr. Sorenson said. Although county elections officials appeared at fault for some of the issues in Georgia, a spokeswoman for Ms. Abrams’s campaign, Abigail Collazo, put the blame on Mr. Kemp.
Bradford Berry, the general counsel of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said, “Obviously, when you have aging voting equipment, you’ll have some machines break down.” “We’re incredibly inspired by how many Georgians are turning out to vote and are staying in line to cast their ballot, despite the fact that some polling locations were not properly prepared by the secretary of state’s office,” Ms. Collazo said in a text message.
But, he added that “we need to make sure that the machines that are breaking down in Georgia are not in certain parts of town, and not in others.” [Jammed scanning machines frustrate voters in New York City]
Although county elections officials appeared at fault for some of the issues in Georgia, a spokeswoman for Ms. Abrams’s campaign, Abigail Collazo, blamed Mr. Kemp for the day’s troubles. In Arizona, voting-rights monitors reported major delays at some sites because of problems with printing ballots. The complaints centered in Maricopa County, the state’s most populous county, where a shift from local polling places to regional voting centers caused chaos two years ago.
“We’re incredibly inspired by how many Georgians are turning out to vote and are staying in line to cast their ballot, despite the fact that some polling locations were not properly prepared by the secretary of state’s office,” she said in a text message. Voters at the regional centers were being turned away or endured long waits after printers that produce ballots tailored to their home precincts malfunctioned, according to Common Cause, which was monitoring polling problems.
In Arizona, voting-rights monitors reported major delays at some polling places because of problems with printing ballots. Early reports suggested that the problems were centered in Maricopa County, the state’s most populous, where a shift from local polling places to regional voting centers caused chaos during the 2016 election. Ms. Clarke said the Maricopa County problems were “among the most significant we’ve seen today” and involved unusually large numbers of minority voters. In four of the afflicted voting centers, registered minority voters — Latinos, African-Americans and Native Americans — outnumbered white voters by roughly 15,700 to 2,800.
Voters at the regional centers were being turned away or forced to wait for long periods after printers that produce ballots tailored to their home precincts malfunctioned, according to Common Cause. In South Carolina, a spokesman for the State Election Commission said problems with malfunctioning voting machines were limited.
Ms. Clarke said the Maricopa County problems were “among the most significant we’ve seen today” and involved unusually large numbers of minority voters. The printer problems appear to affect nine voting centers in the county, she said. “These issues were attributable to human error in preparation of the system, and in most cases, were resolved earlier this morning,” the spokesman, Chris Whitmire, said in an email.
In four of them, registered minorities — Latinos, African-Americans and Native Americans — outnumbered white voters by roughly 15,700 to 2,800. Ms. Clarke said the committee was investigating options for remedying the problem, including a call to extend voting hours at the sites.
In South Carolina, a spokesman for the State Election Commission said problems with malfunctioning voting machines were far from pervasive and quickly addressed.
“These issues were attributable to human error in preparation of the system, and in most cases, were resolved earlier this morning,” the spokesman, Chris Whitmire, said in an email. “We expect these types of isolated issues in any statewide election.”
Any issues experienced this year are more likely to jangle an electorate already unnerved by the fraught backdrop of the 2016 election, whose aftermath has been picked over amid concerns of Russian interference and President Trump’s repeated warnings, without evidence, of widespread voter fraud.
Tensions have also been exacerbated amid a fierce battle over how easily Americans can register, vote early and gain access to polling sites. Election experts point to a declining enforcement of voting rights for minorities since the Supreme Court struck down the core of the 1965 Voting Rights Act five years ago.
“We are dealing with a very different climate in 2018,” said Karen Flynn, the president of Common Cause. “We do not have a Department of Justice that is working hand in hand with our network to be solving these problems, we don’t have the protections of the Voting Rights Act, and we have a president that is putting out messages that can feel threatening to many voters.”
The Justice Department deployed election monitors to 35 jurisdictions in 19 states, but Jeff Sessions, the attorney general, drew concern among Democrats for emphasizing fraud as well as civil rights.The Justice Department deployed election monitors to 35 jurisdictions in 19 states, but Jeff Sessions, the attorney general, drew concern among Democrats for emphasizing fraud as well as civil rights.
Mr. Trump, for his part, tweeted on Monday that “Law Enforcement has been strongly notified to watch closely for any ILLEGAL VOTING which may take place” and that “Anyone caught will be subject to the Maximum Criminal Penalties allowed by law.” “We are dealing with a very different climate in 2018,” said Karen Flynn, the president of Common Cause. “We do not have a Department of Justice that is working hand in hand with our network to be solving these problems, we don’t have the protections of the Voting Rights Act, and we have a president that is putting out messages that can feel threatening to many voters.”
In El Paso, the federal Border and Customs Protection agency abruptly canceled an exercise along the Mexico border Tuesday morning after civil-rights groups and Democratic leaders complained of voter intimidation. The crowd-control exercise would have taken place near a border crossing adjacent to the heavily Latino Chihuahuita neighborhood, and less than a half mile from a polling station used by Latino voters.
“It was just really ham-handed and insensitive at the minimum — and possibly worse,” said Nina Perales, the voting rights legal director at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Not all problems were as sinister as some feared. A viral video at a polling site in Columbus, Ohio, showed a voter casting an electronic ballot for the Republican candidate for governor, Mike DeWine. But the paper record in the video shows a vote cast for Mr. DeWine’s Democratic opponent, Richard Cordray.
The account that posted the video on Facebook claimed it showed a “rigged” machine. A spokesman for the Franklin County Board of Elections, Aaron Sellers, said that the machine in question had been experiencing a paper jam, which caused a previous voter’s paper record to print.
The voter was allowed to recast her ballot on a working machine, but the video was shared thousands of times on Twitter, often by people referring in their profiles to QAnon, a sprawling pro-Trump conspiracy theory.