Long Lines on the First Day of Early Voting Trigger Talks of Voter Suppression
Voters have expressed their frustrations after some wait as long as 11 hours to vote on the first day of early voting in Georgia.
Almost every election we hear of issues at polling locations across the country, from extremely long lines to malfunctioning machines. This year was no different on the first day of early voting in Georgia. Some revealed that they experienced wait times as high as 11 hours as they waited to cast their ballot.
This is what the GOP wants. Lines so long people give up.
DON’T GIVE UP. Not today. Not ever.We will fix this. And it starts with voting people like Kemp out of office. https://t.co/xgSynqVOMD
— Kaz Weida (@kazweida) October 12, 2020
Voter suppression has been a topic of discussion for decades, but debates have escalated in recent years, especially in Georgia. During their 2018 gubernatorial race, Secretary of State Brian Kemp was accused of purging voters ahead of the election where he was the Republican candidate.
Kemp’s opponent Stacy Abrams voiced her concerns about voter suppression throughout the campaign, and it was revealed that thousands of votes had not been counted. The votes were recounted and Kemp eventually won the election.
Please spare me the ‘long lines at voting places are inspiring’ hot takes. They’re a sign of a failing democracy where elected officials are afraid of their voters and make voting as difficult as possible for ‘the others.’ Rich neighborhoods don’t do lines…
— Patrick Skinner (@SkinnerPm) October 12, 2020
Not much seems to have changed in Georgia over the past two years as voting for the 2020 election gets off to a rough start, and many say race and class are big factors. Polling locations in predominantly white and wealthy areas had wait times as low as 15 minutes while those in predominantly Black and lower-income areas had to wait over five hours.
The line to vote in majority-white Buckhead is 15 min.
The line to vote in majority-Black South Cobb is 5 hours.
As we hear Amy Coney Barrett, remember- this is by design. Republicans on SCOTUS gutted the Voting Rights Act knowing full well this would happen. #GAPol #vote pic.twitter.com/DDCa5mQG2D
— Brent Peabody (@brent_peabody) October 12, 2020
Many have been expressing their concerns on social media throughout the day, and they’re curious to see how early voting will play out throughout the rest of the country. Despite the long waits, Georgia reported the highest turnout ever on the first day of early voting with over 120,000 ballots cast.
With Election Day just three weeks away, be sure to visit vote.org to get information on voting in your area.
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