October 2020, UNG Vanguard
ATHENS, GA - Voting for Athens-Clarke County citizens is well under way for the 2020 general election. Despite several new challenges, the department seems more than up to the task of providing a fair process for its voters.
“We’re handling almost three times as much paper this year compared to even the busiest election years like 2008 and 2016,” said Charlotte Sosebee, the Director of Elections in Athens-Clarke County.
All across the country precincts are reporting an increase in mail-in and advanced voting at their locations. The most recent counts say more than 4 million Americans have already placed their votes for this year's general election, indicating a possible record level of turnout by election day.
Many voters have opted to use mail-in and absentee ballots to cast their votes, a process that Donald Trump has repeatedly lambasted despite his own participation over the past several elections using the method.
The increased paper ballot part of voting is just a single hurdle for what will most likely be an election day unlike any other. Many polling locations have indicated a shortage of experienced poll workers necessary in order for things to run smoothly on the big day.
The next generation of voters and political activists couldn’t have come at a better time than now. Many poll workers are those that are elderly, retired, or working only part-time. The COVID crisis has kept many of those people home as they tend to skew towards categories at high risk of increased complications due to the virus.
“It’s not whether or not we’ll have poll workers for this year’s election, it’s whether or not they’ll have past experience,” said Sosebee. “I think people are getting more involved cause they're inquisitive of the process.”
Every poll seems to indicate that political engagement is at an all-time high going into this 2020 election season. People from both sides of the aisle continue to point fingers and blame especially those here in Georgia still bitter from the most recent major election two short years ago.
In 2018, Georgia’s gubernatorial race was criticized for then Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s handling of voter rolls with more than 560,000 Georgians names being purged from lists - making them ineligible to vote in the race. The race was later decided by less than 70,000 total votes in Kemp’s favor.
“I know every Poll Director in the state is going the extra mile to make sure that people don’t feel disenfranchised,” said Sosebee, making it very clear just how seriously she takes these accusations here in Clarke county. “I know every Poll Director in the state is going the extra mile to make sure that people don’t feel disenfranchised.”
In early October, Texas governor, Greg Abbott, gave a directive limiting each county across his state to only allow one ballot box drop-off location each, no matter the population size. Abbott cited safety concerns for each box but later came under scrutiny from political opponents concerned about voter suppression. The ruling was later overturned by a federal judge for that very concern.
Athens-Clarke County houses six ballot box drop-off locations for the more than 120,000 citizens. Each location is equipped with surveillance cameras and protected by federal laws requiring each box to be checked and collected from every 72 hours by two different election workers each trip.
Funding is a huge issue across the industry for polling departments. Despite it being written in the constitution, the voting process features a number of hurdles for citizens to jump through in order to be eligible to cast their ballot.
“The voter list purge,” said Sosebee, “is really a process that allows polling locations to properly prepare for election day each year.” Keeping a consistent roll of eligible voters in the area allows the elections department the information necessary to staff each polling location adequately as well as disperse the appropriate number of machines to each.
“When a voter has not voted or engaged with our office for a number of years, that voter is sent a confirmation notice. If they don’t complete that notice, their name comes off the voting list. The purpose being, their active voter registration is based on a more actual number of voters instead of overall eligible voters.”
In past years, it’s been common to see reports from national media about lengthy wait times due to polling locations taking the time necessary to be thorough and precise in their processes. This year Sosebee feels COVID-19 gives her polling locations more of an excuse to take the time necessary to not just ensure all laws, codes, and regulations are followed but also that everyone stays safe.
“We want everyone a week from election day to still be and feel safe, that’s our goal. Not just day-of, but a week out still feeling 100%,” said Sosebee. “Just know that if you are in line by 7:00 that night on Nov. 3, you will get to vote.”
Early voting begins in Athens on October 12th and will continue until election day on November 3rd. For information on early voting locations near you, visit the Secretary of State’s website here.