Mayor Bottoms issues order expanding voter access in Atlanta
Voters line up to cast their ballots at a polling station set up at Grady High School.
ATLANTA - The COVID-19 pandemic has added to the challenge of casting a ballot in this year's elections, so in an effort to overcome that issue, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has issued an executive order expanding voter access.
Bottoms' new order doubles the number of hours that City of Atlanta employees can take off to vote from two to four.
The rule impacts the early voting period, the general election on Nov. 3, and the general election runoff on Jan. 5, 2021.
“Regardless of party affiliation, all Atlanta residents deserve to not only cast their vote, but do so in a safe, open and accessible manner,” Bottoms said in a statement. “The dysfunction we saw across the state during the Primary was unacceptable. In 2020, we should be making it easier for people to exercise their Constitutional right to vote—because access to the polls is access to our democracy.”
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The order also directs Atlanta's COO to work with the Boards of Registration and Elections of both Fulton and DeKalb County to see how the city can use its resources to make voting easier and safer for all Atlanta residents, as well as investigating how new changes to the U.S. Postal Service may affect residents who are mailing their vote in.
The mayor has asked for an update to the Atlanta 311 mobile app to help give the public information on how to register and find their polling place.
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