Absentee ballots are messed up in Gwinnett
I have worked for many years at a Gwinnett precinct as Assistant Poll Manager. During yesterdays primary election, several people came in from a local senior citizens center, on the center's bus. We happily processed the voters through, and accommodated several who had mobility issues.
The real problem was the woman who worked at the center, and drove the bus. She had a stack of about 8 absentee ballots in her hands from residents who couldn't come in. According to her, the absentee ballots arrived at the center the day before the primary. Her people filled out the forms, they appeared to be done correctly. But we couldn't accept the ballots at the precinct and couldn't cancel them because the voters weren't able to come to the precinct.
The only solution we could propose was for her to take the absentee ballots to Election Headquarters, to be turned in via drop box or handed in. Since he had people that needed to be returned to the center, she couldn't head out the Elections immediately. I do not know what happened after she left.
My concerns are several layered: 1) Absentee ballots being delivered by USPS the day before the election doesn't give enough time to be returned. 2) I am worried that she could be accused of ballot harvesting. None of the residents are family members, so she may not be legally allowed to leave the ballots.
The Republican legislature and Governor have basically dis-enfranchised these voters. I felt sick to my stomach dealing with this situation. I will probably forward this post to my elected officials and elections personnel.
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