First day of early voting in Georgia is met with long lines

By DeMicia Inman

·October 12, 2020

Voters line up inside of State Farm Arena, Georgia's largest early voting location, for the first day of early voting in the general election on October 12, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. Early voting in Georgia runs from October 12-30. (Photo by Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)

Early voting kicked off in the Peach State with lines wrapped around polling stations.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the lines began to stack up before the polling locations even opened. A technical error at Georgia’s largest early voting site, State Farm Arena, caused a temporary delay for those in line.

Some voters received an “invalid card” error when inserting their voter access cards into the provided touchscreens.

A collective sigh of frustrationby some voters as a arena official explains the issue with the machines. He said there’s a software issue countywide. He said they have identified issue and working to figure it out. #11Alive pic.twitter.com/boNycsulCo
— Nick Sturdivant (@N_SturdivantTV) October 12, 2020

Voters expressed their frustration to AJC, but remained adamant that submitting their ballot was important.

“I would have voted all day if I had to,” said Adrienne Crowley who according to the news outlet waited over an hour to cast her vote at the State Farm Arena.

“It’s a positive because people are voting, but it’s a negative because I don’t want to wait in line,” said Danielle Driscoll who was voting at a Smyrna library polling location, according to AJC.

In Georgia, voters who choose to vote early can vote at any polling location in the county where they are registered. According to AJC, there are more than 60 early voting locations in metro Atlanta’s four core counties, including over 30 in Fulton County alone.

Voters line up inside of State Farm Arena, Georgia’s largest early voting location, for the first day of early voting in the general election on October 12, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. Early voting in Georgia runs from October 12-30. (Photo by Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)

The southern state is not the only state that saw a high turnout among early voters. In Ohio, early voting commenced last week with long lines in multiple cities.

According to 10 WBNS, at the Franklin County Board of Elections in the capital city Columbus, the line reached about a quarter-mile long wrapping around the front and around the back of the building.

Columbus was just one of a handful of cities in the Buckeye State to draw long voting lines. According to Dayton Daily News, over 750 people voted at the Montgomery County Board of Elections on the first day of early voting, more than double the number of votes Montgomery County cast on the same day in 2016.

Metropolitan areas such as Cincinnati and Cleveland also recorded high numbers.

“It is my duty as an American to vote,” said Candice Matthews-Brackeen, the firt person in line to vote in Cincinnati, according to 10 WBNS.

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