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Absentee ballot absent: Homebound Georgia woman unable to cast her vote

By
Updated  March 13, 2024 4:41pm EDT
Clayton County
FOX 5 Atlanta

Clayton Co. woman says absentee ballot never came

A homebound Clayton County woman said she requested an absentee ballot a week and a half ago, but it never came in the mail. She says she won't be able to vote in Tuesday's presidential primary.

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. - A Clayton County woman was not able to vote in Tuesday’s presidential primaries in Georgia because her absentee ballot she requested never arrived.

She says she could not get to a voting precinct herself because she is homebound and would need a special type of transport to take her.

"To the point of tears, I've never had this happen before," said Avis Anita Shaw.

Shaw has been left frustrated because she says, for the first time in more than two decades, she was not able to vote.

"It's very important to always exercise the right to vote," she said.

Avis Anita Shaw shows a copy of her absentee ballot application.

Avis Anita Shaw shows a copy of her absentee ballot application.

LIVE RESULTS: Georgia presidential primaries

That opportunity was dashed because her absentee ballot was never delivered to her mailbox. She was not able to vote in person on Tuesday because she had no way of getting to a voting precinct.

Shaw says she has called the Clayton County Board of Elections multiple times over the last few days.

"She said that the date that my application came and was present, it was the same date that they mailed it out and that they had had multiple calls from individuals not receiving their ballot," Shaw said.

FOX 5 reached out to the election board. It said Shaw's absentee ballot application was received on February 29 and her ballot was sent out that day. In a statement, officials wrote:

"We remain committed to ensuring the integrity and accessibility of the electoral process, and we encourage all eligible voters to exercise their right to vote."

For Shaw, she is upset and says it seems the United States Postal Service is to blame.

"There's just something not right about this, and it doesn't make sense," Shaw said.

It is unclear if this is related to the issues at the new United States Postal Service regional processing and distribution center in Palmetto. FOX 5 reached out to the postal service which responded with the following statement on Wednesday:

"The U.S. Postal Service is committed to the secure, timely delivery of the nation’s Election Mail. We are committed to fulfilling our role in the electoral process when public policy makers choose to utilize us as a part of their election system. We provide election officials with a secure, efficient, and effective means to enable citizens to participate in elections. We have been working closely with local election officials, including in Georgia, including regular touchpoints, to meet that goal.

"Regarding mail in Clayton County, the Postal Service is unaware of reports of late or missing ballots in the area. All mail and flats, including Election Mail and ballots, are delivered daily with facilities cleared of Election and Political Mail by close of business. We are reaching out to the county’s board of elections and look forward to the successful completion of Georgia’s primary elections."