Some Fulton County residents concerned over lack of absentee ballots
ATLANTA - Voters are saying they are encountering problems with absentee ballots. It’s a complaint that is being heard more often as many are using the method to avoid going to the polls to vote due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The latest incidents happened in Fulton County, where voters are complaining they've applied for absentee ballots but haven't gotten them. The Georgia Secretary of State has since launched an investigation.
Part of the cries from protestors and politicians has been to "vote" this election cycle. But with less than six months left and the coronavirus keeping many voters at home, there are rampant reports of problems with absentee ballots.
"I feel like the system has failed us all to be honest because now folks are still waiting for this absentee ballot," said concerned voter Imara Canady.
Fulton County Commissioner Liz Hausmann is working with the Secretary of State's Office on Voter Reform in Georgia's other counties and said she too is frustrated by what's happening in hers.
"I don't understand it either and I share their frustration, that's really why we're having this conversation. I don't understand why we had such a difficult time processing the applications," Hausmann said.
That means instead of voting by mail those voters will have to go in person to polling sites, something election leaders have been urging voters to avoid in the era of COVID-19.
"The community at large is very concerned about what will happen in this election cycle and will their vote be counted," Hausmann said adding if voters haven't received an absentee ballot there is not much of a choice. "If they have not received a ballot they're going to have to vote in person. The lines are gonna be long, the social distancing that's in place at the polls does make the process go longer."
Voting by mail is something that's become a politically charged issue with Democrats at the highest levels of government are urging people to do but voter fraud has always been a major concern. Like what a Clayton County voter told FOX 5’s Portia Bruner this week.
"They told me a vote had been cast for me. Somebody had taken an absentee ballot that I did not request and actually submitted a vote for me," said Tocarro Combs-Davis.