«Плохое планирование в первую очередь». Опросники описывают хаос во время праймериз в Грузии

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(ATLANTA) — First-time poll employee Kirubel Behailu opinion he’d change into extra familiar with Georgia’s new voting machines at a aloof election enviornment during Tuesday’s main. As an more than a few, he stumbled on himself scrambling to sanitize instruments, obvious jams in a ballotscanner and creep lend a hand voter cards during a 15-hour marathon at an Atlanta church inundated with pissed off voters.

“I broke a sweat in the course of the day. I logged as a minimal 10,000 steps. It became once form of overwhelming,” acknowledged Behailu, for sure one of several poll workers who shared their experiences withThe Linked Press.

Voting problemswere reported during mighty of Georgia, forcing 20 of a 159 counties to lengthen voting in as a minimal one precinct. But it became once particularly messy in metro Atlanta.

Election officers in Fulton County — the suppose’s most populous — confronted a backlog of thousands of absentee ballotcapabilities after workers became ill with the coronavirus and a deluge of requests iced over electronic mail accounts and jammed printers.

Manyvoters who didn’t fetch their absentee ballotsneeded to crowd into polling sites that had been consolidated attributable to the virus. Traces then grew because social distancing requirements little the collection of machines that will be worn in confined spaces. Voters at Behailu’s enviornment reported ready as a lot as 2 hours; some voters some assign else acknowledged they needed to again as a lot as 5 hours; others simply gave up.

Voting hours were extended at every Fulton County polling enviornment, with the closing ballots solid around middle of the night.

Read extra:Why Coronavirus Can even Be the Excellent Possibility But to Donald Trump’s Re-Election

Georgia’s prime elections legitimate, Secretary of Jabber Brad Raffensperger, had expressed self assurance for months about his rollout of the new machines, despite warnings by voting rights advocates that poll workers wouldn’t be pleased enough time to ogle ways to exercise them.

Then the pandemic came about, limiting in-person training, even as many skilled poll workers were afraid off over fears of getting ill.

Kaelen Thomas, 21, who staffed one more polling enviornment in Atlanta, acknowledged he didn’t assume the learning they got on the new voting instruments became once enough for older workers who can also now now not be pleased as mighty abilities with technology. Peaceable, he pushed lend a hand on any criticism of the workers.

“I bet it comes the total manner down to miserable planning initially,” he acknowledged.

For some workers, the day became once harrowing. Behailu, 25, acknowledged the troubles at his polling enviornment near Piedmont Park began early, with workers “operating around in circles” earlier than the polls opened to vitality up a battery pack that helps the voting instruments. The first other folks to vote got error messages after they inserted electronic cards worn to bring up their ballot. And one day it began raining, and workers raced to restructure the line so extra other folks would fit within whereas staying six ft apart.

“I became once strolling in there somewhat blind,” he acknowledged. “I had no opinion what to impeach.”

Officials struggled to recruit workers amid the pandemic. Behailu, who expected to be paid $15 an hour for his work, acknowledged he became once pulled between tasks and opinion his position will be pleased worn as a minimal two or three extra workers.

“Factor in your feeling whereas you’re at 6 p.m. on a 13-hour shift, after which they add three extra hours,” acknowledged Evan Malbrough, who also staffed a polling position in Atlanta on Tuesday. “I’m now now not advocating for closing polls early or voter suppression, but I bet that must be assign apart within the dialog because it’s now now not right voters at the polling position.”

Malbrough recruited 86 young poll workers, including Behailu, through his work with a voter advocacy group creep by college students. Now he worries many received’t attain lend a hand to again in November.

“It be main to be pleased complex pores and skin to be a poll employee because there’s a lot of offended other folks and rightfully so,” Malbrough acknowledged.

The coronavirus became once also a source of dread. Jazmin Mejia, 22, staffed a polling position in South Fulton, Georgia during early voting. She acknowledged other folks had danger realizing what workers were announcing with their masks on, so they’d try to “uncover about over” a protective conceal on a desk to listen to greater.

“It became once form of like, ‘You’re lacking the purpose of the conceal,’” she acknowledged.

Voter Alynn Gordon, a 31-year-old learn analyst, abandoned two attempts to solid her ballotin Atlanta attributable to long traces earlier than emerging triumphant around 9: 45 p.m. Tuesday, among the closing other folks to vote at her enviornment. She acknowledged a poll employee didn’t present obvious direction about feed her ballotcorrect into a scanner, but they perceived to be doing their simplest.

“I don’t know that they were smiling at that time within the day,” she acknowledged. “But I wouldn’t question them to be vivid and cheery at that hour.”

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