Voter access cards not working and systems saying the voter had already cast a ballot were just a few of the issues DeKalb County residents faced during runoff elections Tuesday.
But none of the issues caused the county to extend precinct hours beyond 7 p.m, county spokesman Andrew Cauthen said.
“There only have been a handful of complaints, all of which were resolved at the complaints and voters were able to cast ballots,” Cauthen said in an emailed statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Cobb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties each extended voting times at two precincts due to delayed openings or (in the case of Cobb) school lockdowns.
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At the The Life Center Ministries on Mount Vernon Road, the polling manager lost a stack of voter access cards, which voters put into machines to cast their ballots. The snafu led to an hour-long delay to casting ballots.
Though that was not the case in DeKalb, Cauthen said other issues affected voters, including those who had requested absentee ballots.
“If a voter requested an absentee ballot, the system will flag the voter as being an absentee voter,” he said.
Similar issues arose during the Nov. 6 election, when voters reported the system showing they had voted despite never receiving a ballot.
MORE|'Multiple' DeKalb absentee voter issues arise on Election Day
“In those cases, poll workers must call the county elections office to verify that no vote has been accepted for that voter before a ballot is cast during the runoff,” Cauthen said.
One issue some DeKalb residents faced were non-working voter access cards.
“In cases when the voter access card registers as having been issued, the poll workers can check to see if a ballot has been cast on that card,” Cauthen said. “If the research shows that a ballot has not been cast, a new card is issued and the voter is allowed to cast a ballot.”
Polls close at 7 p.m.
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