In Georgia, where the contentious gubernatorial race between Democrat Stacey Abrams and Republican Brian Kemp has sparked accusations of voter suppression, and multiple counties faced administrative issues on Election Day.
Voters faced long waits after a miscalculation of registered voters
Long lines, an issue that frequently plagues many polling sites across the country, have struck again. Pictures and videos across the country show packed polling places.
Rachel Thompson of Atlanta, Georgia, wrote on Twitter that she waited in line for four hours. "There are 300 of us and THREE voting machines," she wrote.
The line became so long, that civil rights activist Jess Jackson appeared and spoke in an attempt to get members of the queue to stay.
Fulton County Elections Director Rick Barron said during a press conference that an error in voter registration numbers caused too few machines to be deployed to the location.
At one location, every machine used to check voters in went down
In Gwinnett County, in at least two locations, officials told local news channel WSB-TV that every Express Poll machine, which is used to create check-in cards for voters that allow them to use separate machines to vote, went down. The line at Annistown Elementary School reportedly stretched the length of the entire building and was hundreds of people long.
Video reports show poll workers in Gwinnett County giving voters instruction on how to use emergency paper ballots.
In at least one location, the problem was reportedly due to a lack of power cords
NBC News later reported that problems at one location stemmed from a lack of power cords. Gwinnett County Director of Communications Joe Sorenson reportedly told NBC that the machines were not plugged in and were running on batteries that ran out.
This line is so disheartening, that Jessie Jackson has turned up and is rallying up voters, telling them not to leave @ajc @wsbtv @cbs46 @CityofAtlanta @staceyabrams #wewillvote pic.twitter.com/MV3Xd5os4j
— Rachel Thompson (@WorldByRachel) November 6, 2018
WHOA!
Check out this line at a polling place in Gwinnett County.
The Anderson school location had machine problems earlier, but voters and county officials tell me it's now, fixed.@wsbtv #Election2018 #ElectionOn2 pic.twitter.com/OJY3DxUHmv
— Audrey Washington (@AudreyWSBTV) November 6, 2018