Gwinnett County election officials agreed on Saturday to contact voters who requested an absentee ballot but never received one and to send overnight replacements before tomorrow’s midterm election. The deal came after a lawsuit over one voter’s missing ballot and applies to voters who still have time to request a new one.
As many as 1,820 Gwinnett County voters may have been affected, according to the complaint. The county will also cover the cost of return postage, which gives those voters a way to send back a replacement ballot without paying out of pocket.
Will Hughes on Georgia voters
Will Hughes, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, said last week, “No voter should lose their voice because an absentee ballot they requested never made it to their mailbox.” He also said, “With Election Day just days away, Gwinnett County voters deserve immediate action to ensure they have a meaningful opportunity to cast their ballots and have them counted.”
Raneem Ashrawi, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Georgia, said, “Folks should be able to count on their government to do the bare minimum the law requires: Mail absentee ballots on time.” She added, “The right to vote is our most fundamental constitutional right and the bedrock of all other rights.”
Cobb County and DeKalb County
Gwinnett County was not the only county with absentee ballot problems. Voters in Cobb County reported comparable issues, and a spokesperson for the Southern Poverty Law Center said voters in DeKalb County faced similar problems with ballots not reaching them.
In DeKalb County, election officials agreed to contact individual voters who never returned their ballot and ask whether they would like a replacement sent to them. That leaves the same basic remedy in place across county lines: reach the voter, offer a replacement, and give them a chance to cast a ballot before the midterm election.
Gwinnett County replacement ballots
The practical step for affected Gwinnett County voters is simple. County officials will contact them individually, tell them they can request a replacement, and send that ballot overnight. For voters who still need one, the response is meant to turn a missed mailing into a ballot that can still be returned in time.
The open question is how many of the 1,820 voters will actually get and send back a replacement ballot before Election Day. The county’s agreement gives them a path to vote, but their ability to use it now depends on how quickly they respond.
