Voters should expect short lines and secure elections on Election Day in Georgia, a critical state for the presidential race, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said.
Turnout is expected to reach 1.1 million voters on Tuesday, building on the 4 million in-person early voters and absentee voters who have already participated, he said.
“This is the time we’ve been waiting for, when it all comes together, where you, the voters, get to choose who your leaders will be,” Raffensperger said during a news conference at the state Capitol. “Lines have to be shorter than one hour, and we will be tracking in.”
Most voters experienced short lines during three weeks of early voting, but during busy times in some areas voters waited 30 minutes or more.
Georgia voters haven’t experienced many lines on Election Day since the state’s chaotic 2020 primary, with average wait times since then at about two minutes.
If voters have to wait more than an hour to vote at any Election Day precinct, election officials are required to reduce the number of voters assigned to that location to no more than 2,000, according to the state’s sweeping voting law passed in 2021.
Raffensperger warned about the potential for misinformation and said he’ll defend every legal vote.
“You may see some extra drama from fringe activists,” Raffensperger said. “Whatever they say, we know this to be true here in Georgia: It is easy to vote and hard to cheat. Our systems are secure and our people are ready.”
Over the weekend, a judge quickly dismissed a lawsuit by the Republican Party that alleged Fulton County wasn’t allowed to accept absentee ballots at election offices after early voting ended Friday. A similar lawsuit is pending in federal court.
Georgia law specifically allows voters to return absentee ballots to election offices or by mail before the state’s deadline of 7 p.m. on Election Day. Members of the military, overseas voters and more than 3,000 Cobb County voters who received their ballots late have a later deadline of 5 p.m. Friday as long as their ballots are postmarked by Election Day.
Raffensperger said Fulton election officials should have announced sooner that the county was opening election offices on the weekend.
“When you don’t give people notice, it just catches them unaware and it’s a mad scramble and just a breeding ground for conspiracy theories,” Raffensperger said. “I know in Georgia, we’re going to have a free, fair and fast election.”
Over 2,200 voting locations will be open across Georgia on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters are required to cast ballots in their designated precincts on Election Day.
Voters can find their precinct locations, sample ballots and registration information on the state’s My Voter Page at mvp.sos.ga.gov.
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