Commissioner: Cobb 'should do better' with early voting lines

Cobb early voting lines — *Early voting lines at the East Cobb Government Service Center on Monday were as long as four hours, and even longer at The Art Place. (ECN photo)*

The day after citizens waited for hours to start the early voting period, the two Cobb commissioners facing one another in the chairman’s election sounded off on the subject.

At the end of Tuesday’s Cobb Board of Commissioners meeting Lisa Cupid, who represents South Cobb, showed national television news footage of long lines that snaked around one of the county’s 11 early voting locations.

The number of those locations and early voting dates have been expanded ahead of the Nov. 3 general election. But more than 7,000 Cobb voters stood in lines lasting several hours in some places, the result of increased turnout and social-distancing protocols.

Cupid, the lone Democrat on the board, said that “I know we can do better, I know we should do better . . . so people don’t have to wait for eight to 10 hours to vote in Cobb County, in the year 2020.”

She said while the strong voting numbers reflect voter energy and excitement, “it’s another thing to question whether or not our voters should have to experience something like that.”

Cupid was critical of her colleagues for nixing a $200,000 request by the Cobb Board of Elections and Registration in July to mail absentee ballots to all registered voters in the county.

Cobb Elections has set up an expedited process to mail absentee ballots to voters who request them online, but Cupid asked “how much did it cost to have our poll workers to have to stay late” processing the votes of those who stood in line well after closing time.

“This is not a condition that we should ignore,” Cupid said. “When people talk about voter suppression, it’s these types of events that they’re referring to.”

Early voting continues Monday-Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Oct. 30 and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the next two Saturdays, Oct. 17 and 24.

The Cobb government GIS office is providing wait-time updates for each of the early voting locations. On Monday the longest estimate at the East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road) was four hours; at The Art Place-Mountain View (3330 Sandy Plains Road), it was as long as five hours.

County spokesman Ross Cavitt said there have been some complaints about how timely the wait-time maps are, and that poll managers are updating that information.

Janine Eveler, the director of Cobb Elections, said in an e-mailed statement that “each poll manager at the voting sites has a login and updates the wait times periodically when they have the opportunity. The wait time is an estimate for that particular moment in time, but voter experiences may vary.”

Commissioner Keli Gambrill said of the 7,062 people who voted early on Monday, 1,386 of them had to cancel absentee ballots, which she said also adds to the waiting time at the polls.

That has to be done before a voter can cast a vote in person.

Mike Boyce, the Republican chairman, spoke last, as is the custom at the end of meetings, and pulled down his mask to respond to Cupid’s comments.

Although not addressing her directly, Boyce said it’s “unfortunate that in this day and age that we’ve politicized the voting process.”

He said the partisan actions of both Democratic and Republican parties are to blame for creating a “narrative” of mistrust, regardless of how someone may vote.

Boyce noted that the commission approved spending $300,000 for security cameras to monitor 16 absentee drop boxes that have been placed around the county, “yet there are people who don’t believe those drop boxes are trustworthy.”

A retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel, Boyce admitted that while lines are inconvenient, “what is it worth to you to stand in line for one of the greatest freedoms we have have, called voting? And for those who fought for you to be able to stand in line today?

“Here’s what standing in line means for me: When you show that photo of lines to people living in China, or North Korea, or Belorussia, that shows that people will stand in line to do what it takes to show that the people are in charge.

“Everyone who stands in line stands for those who went before us and gave us this freedom to do what I believe is the most important thing our government responds to, and that is to hear the will and the voice of the people through the ballot box.”

Regardless of the method of voting, Boyce added, “those who go and do it are the true heroes right now. Those who don’t, you have to ask yourself, what is it about this country that you don’t like? That you don’t go and do your duty and don’t vote?”

The county also said Tuesday that voters concerned about their absentee ballot status can use a tracking website from the Georgia Secretary of State’s office that can be found here.

The absentee ballot drop boxes in Cobb include the East Cobb government center, Sewell Mill Library (2051 Lower Roswell Road), Gritters Library (880 Shaw Park Drive) and Mountain View Regional Library (3320 Sandy Plains Road).

A full list of drop boxes can be found here. They will be open 24/7 until 7 p.m. on election day, Nov. 3.