Cobb County election officials worked diligently to address the sudden surge in absentee ballot requests, with nearly 1,000 applications submitted on the final request day. In response, the county express mailed thousands of absentee ballots, ensuring voters can participate despite last-minute applications.
The Cobb County Board of Elections Chairwoman, Tori Silas, attributed the increased interest in absentee voting to the election’s historic nature. She acknowledged, however, that limited resources have hindered the county’s ability to process the volume of ballots as swiftly as desired, highlighting a need for additional equipment to handle the rapid influx.
Over 4 million Georgia voters voted prior to today’s election with nearly 250,000 of those votes cast by mail. This already surpasses 50% turnout statewide. In 2020 only around 2.7 million votes were cast during early voting.
“It’s indicative of the historic nature of this particular election and all the interest in this election,” said Cobb County Board of Elections Chairwoman Tori Silas.
“We’re overnighting everything and included in that overnight package is an overnight prepaid envelope so they can express the ballot back to us once they’ve completed it,” Silas added.
The last minute rush is adding expenses as election officials but Cobb County officials believe the cost is worth it to make sure Georgia voters can cast their ballots.
With the rush of last minute requests, the ACLU and Southern Poverty Law Center filed a lawsuit requesting that ballots be counted for up to three days past Election Day. The Georgia Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit and upheld state law requiring ballots to be received by election workers no later than close of polls on Election Day.
Georgia is not alone in seeing a large turnout prior to election day. Over 59 million Americans have already voted by mail or early voting.
As these practices become more common throughout the country, experts have begun weighing in on best practices for absentee ballots to help voters ensure their ballots are counted while maintaining election integrity. Officials emphasize that voters should complete their ballots as soon as possible after receiving them, following all instructions carefully. A few key steps include using a blue or black ink pen, avoiding stray marks, and sealing the ballot in the provided envelope.
Additionally, voters should check for and sign the necessary affidavit on the outer envelope, a critical step in validating the ballot. Returning ballots promptly can further mitigate delays.
While absentee ballots can be mailed back to election officials, Cobb County has cautioned voters that if they are concerned about their absentee ballot being counted, they still have the option to vote in person today instead.
For those unable to do so, the Georgia’s Supreme Court ruling dictates any ballot received by the time polls close today – 7:00 p.m. – will be counted. Any received past then but before 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 8th will be kept separate and secure until the County receives further instructions from the court.
