As of Nov. 5, 2.5 million votes had been cast in the state and turnout in primary polls reached a record high, but many say the polls were contested amid allegations of voter suppression. Black voters in particular, who make up 35 percent of eligible voters in the state, have expressed concerns about being denied the right to vote, including doctoral student Jennifer Jones, who claims her vote was challenged because she is black. woman who primarily votes Democrat. “This is not the first harassment black people have faced with voter questioning or voter suppression, so I’m not really surprised, but I really didn’t expect this to happen,” she told CTV National News. Jones says challenging her vote was likely allowed because of the state’s Election Integrity Act passed last year. In 2021, Republican Governor of Georgia Brian Kemp passed the bill, also known as SB202, which includes various voting restrictions, such as not allowing the distribution of food or water at the polling lines and allowing any citizen to anonymously challenge the eligibility of a voter. A voter advocacy group was able to clear up the challenge to Jones’ vote and she was able to submit her ballot within two days. But with early voting now closed, Jones says she worries about others voting on Election Day, when the verification process may take longer and many may not be able to vote in time before the polls officially close. While most voter challenges have been dismissed, there have been reports of other counties in the state facing similar hurdles. Election officials in the state’s third-most populous county, Cobb County, found that more than 1,000 absentee ballots were not mailed, and a group of activists is now filing a lawsuit demanding that the ballots be mailed immediately and that the filing deadline be extended from Nov. 8, Election Day, to on November 14, the same deadline for overseas and military absentee voters. The lawsuit, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia (ACLU), the Southern Poverty Law Center and Dechert LLP alleges that election officials were adversely affected by SB202 and in turn increased the margin for error in mailing and collection of ballots to voters. “The anti-voter law put tremendous pressure on election officials to fulfill a number of responsibilities on a very tight deadline, and in Cobb County, that pressure resulted in a massive error and hundreds of voters at risk of being disenfranchised,” Rahul said. Garabadu, senior voting rights attorney at the ACLU of Georgia, in a statement. “We are suing to make sure all Cobb County voters can have their voices heard, and we look forward to the day when the state works with counties to make voting easier, not harder, for all Georgians.” Georgia pastor Jamal Bryant told CTV National News he will continue to encourage members of his congregation to vote, as he says the challenges voters face show the importance of their ballot. “We’re committed to dealing with the crisis aggressively and it’s higher because we know that if you’re trying to deal with it, it has to have some value,” he said.
