Two DeKalb County polling places will stay open past the normal 7 p.m. closing time on Tuesday.
County officials said the precinct at Valley Brook Baptist Church (1198 N. Valley Brook Road, Decatur) would stay open until 7:40 p.m. The precinct at Obama Elementary School (3132 Clifton Church Road SE, Atlanta) will be open until 7:45 p.m.
Voters assigned to those precincts that are in line by the new deadline will be allowed to cast their ballots.
According to the petition for extended hours signed by DeKalb Superior Court Judge Courtney L. Johnson, both affected precincts “experienced time periods without voting due to an inability to operate the poll pads as designed, preventing voters from casting their ballots.” Poll pads are the tablets used to check voters in to their precincts.
“This extension was requested, in an abundance of caution, to ensure that all electors at the locations have the required full 12 hours of voting,” a press release said.
Election Day otherwise appeared to be going smoothly in DeKalb, where elections leaders have had their readiness questioned repeatedly in recent weeks and months.
Letters announcing several county polling place relocations arrived in the mailboxes of some affected voters as late as Monday and Tuesday, raising eyebrows when they were posted on social media. But DeKalb officials said the 32 precinct changes -- which the county elections board approved last month, citing concerns about space and and COVID-19 social distancing requirements -- were previously advertised in the county’s legal organ, in county social media posts, and in digital ads on several local news outlets.
A text and call campaign also contacted all DeKalb voters who had not yet cast ballots and urged them to verify their precinct location, officials said.
They said signs and volunteers were at all relocated precincts Tuesday to redirect voters to their proper location.
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