As Jodie Greenwald and her daughter Rachel exited the Dunwoody Library, they did what so many do after they vote: take a selfie. The colored hair duo was in and out of the precinct early Friday within 10 minutes, conveniently avoiding any potential rush.
The mother-daughter team said they voted for Stacey Abrams, citing her commitment to childcare resources and protecting women's rights. Jodie Greenwald, 52, said she always intended to vote for Abrams, but the allegations of voter suppression completely soured her on Secretary of State Brian Kemp. Still she's hoping good can come from the accusations.
“If anything, it might encourage more people to vote, to help make changes,” she said. “...If you do come to the polls early and an issue comes up, you have time to rectify that before Election Day.”
The allegations didn’t deter David Hannah, who voted along Republican party lines.
Prefaced with a deep sigh, Hannah said “the state is shifting more Democratic and I think that it is important to maintain the Republican principles.
“Unfortunately, were getting to the point where we believe that government handing out money and redistributing it is going to be overall (in the) long term better for society and I don’t agree with that.”
While Hannah, a Brookhaven resident, acknowledged the voter suppression accusations were a possibility, he said voters will likely still vote along party lines.
“I think it will take more than that to sway (voters) one way or the other,” he said.
For T.J. Ramey, it came down to core values.
“I’m not really pleased with either party,” he said. “They’re too extreme on both sides.” The Doraville resident said he cast his vote for Libertarian Ted Metz, who he said values small government.
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By 10 a.m., the precinct’s peak crowd entered the library to cast their votes.
Renata Fleming, polling manager, said while the wait times have not been long, the numbers of voters trickling in has decreased during the week.
“I was expecting a much larger crowd,” Fleming said, adding she saw a busier crowded last year when she worked at the Tucker precinct.
The precinct started the week with 1,144 early voters Monday but fell to 993 by Thursday evening. Friday’s voter turnout number will not be available until about 8:30 p.m.
Still, the county has seen high numbers for its first-day advance voting turnout total with more than 10,000 voters in the county Monday. Of those, approximately 5,000 were absentee ballots.
Fleming said the only hiccup she’s seen is the ballot automatically submitting after voters review it for submission. That issues was reported to DeKalb election officials.
Aside from that, the county has not reported severe wait times.
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There was a steady flow of early voters at the Voter Registration and Elections Office on Memorial Drive in DeKalb County early Wednesday.
Linda Jones, the owner of a Stockbridge salon, was late to her shop this week in order to cast her vote.
“Our future is in jeopardy. You have a right to do this,” she said. “It’s our just due and we’ve got to do our just due.”
Jones, who lives in Lithonia, cast her vote for Stacey Abrams.
"I like the change she's trying to bring about," said Jones, particularly in her desire to expand Medicaid and her platform on education.
Wahab Alabi also came to not only cast an early vote for Abrams, but also to vote for the ballot question involving crime victim's rights. The proposed amendment, known Marsy's law, would ensure victims are notified on hearings and other proceedings in their case and have the right to demand a court hearing to get more information about developments in the case.
“This is definitely a right that victims should have. They should know what’s going on with the person that harmed them,” he said.
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