World news – Voting Blog: Polls for Voters with COVID-19 in Canton, state

Control of the US Senate is at stake in Tuesday’s runoff elections. Follow GPB reporters on our election blog.

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Cherokee County residents who tested positive or exhibited symptoms for COVID-19 will be asked to vote today. Ellen Eldridge from GPB reports.

Cherokee County residents who tested positive or exhibited symptoms for COVID-19 will be asked to vote today. Ellen Eldridge from GPB reports.

At 10 a.m., around 85 people had cast ballots in the runoff elections for the Senate in Canton. The polling station is open until 7 p.m. for Cherokee County residents, including those who test positive for COVID-19.

Voters cannot be prevented from voting in today’s runoff election, even if they have symptoms or a positive diagnosis of COVID-19, said Aimee Clary, an election worker in Cherokee County. She said polling station officials simply ask to be notified when someone is sick. Then they take that person around the back of the building.

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Aimee Clary, an election worker in Cherokee County, stands in front of the canton district on January 5, where voters will take part in the historic Senate runoff.

Photo credit: Ellen Eldridge / GPB News

« We’re lucky because we have a big open polling station and a machine that people can go to because it’s easier to set up our room, » said Clary. « And then we can disinfect. » the room after the person leaves. « 

In the West Broad Street YMCA in Savannah, near candidate Raphael Warnock, everything was calm and cold. A slow trickle of voters cycled in and out, no one spending more than a few minutes at the polling station. </ Voter Deotha Bratley said it took her "less than five minutes" to vote. At 83, she said she had voted in every election since she was 18. This is how her grandmother raised her, she said.

Despite reports of early morning voting problems at Connexion Church in Savannah, there was no line at 11 am The manager said there were problems getting the voting machines to work the first time they opened, but it was quickly resolved. </ A steady crowd of voters came and went, including Joyce Dukes, who didn't vote in November after losing her driver's license but today after learning that she could use a different ID.

« It is important to us put the Republicans in office, « she said. Dukes said they have « high hopes for Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue ».

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In the Courtyard by Marriott hotel district in Pooler, just outside Savannah, voting was easy.

Photo credit: Emily Jones / GPB News

« I hope by grace everything will work out, not just for us – for everyone, » said Bratley.

In Pooler, just outside Savannah, the line for a nearby Starbucks transit was heavy longer than the queue at a Courtyard by Marriott hotel that serves as a polling station. A poll monitor said voters moved in and out in minutes all morning, and voter Dominique Flowers said it took less than five minutes.

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Dominique Flowers explains why he voted

« We made a difference a few months ago, a month ago, » said Flowers of his decision to vote again in the runoff election. “And this time around, I wanted to be part of the difference.”

In the dependably Republican Howard Community Club district in the northern suburbs of Macon, there was a healthy line to vote when the polls opened at 7am.

For Scott Wise, waiting for a personal vote on January 5th was a case of clinging to tradition and his lack of confidence in the Georgia elections.

Caption
Voters lined up at around 7 a.m. in the Howard Community Club district in the northern suburbs of Macon to cast their ballots in the January 5 runoff.

Photo credit: Grant Blankenship / GPB News

« There were a lot of illegal votes cast in the last election, but hopefully they won’t push boxes from under tables in some of these counties, » said Wise, citing various electoral conspiracy theories that have never been confirmed by facts.

Wise also said he does not trust the signature match system that is used to validate the ballot papers submitted by mail. Wise said it was a bulwark against socialism.

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« If you look at any socialist society that was ever formed, it failed and more people died from it than anything, » Wise said.

« If you look at any socialist society that was ever formed, it failed and more people died from it than anything, » said Wise.

Joy Jackson said she was not the last to vote today because her job – and the 65-mile walk to the south side of Atlanta that goes with it – hasn’t left her time in any other way.

Caption
Voters cast their votes on January 5th in the Howard Community Club district in the northern suburbs of Macon.

Photo credit: Grant Blankenship / GPB News

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« It has been so messy for me and my family when it comes to the pandemic and the decisions that many politicians have made, » Jackson said. « As at the moment, I know so many people who are at risk of losing their homes, have no income. It’s bad for a lot of the people I know, especially many minorities. »

« It has been so messy for me and my family when it comes to the pandemic and the decisions that many politicians have made, » Jackson said. « As now, I know so many people who are at risk of losing their homes, have no income. It’s bad for a lot of the people I know, especially many minorities. » Jackson said that’s why the vote was for them at least one step towards restoring their own peace of mind.

Thirteen voters stood in line to vote in a Canton in the Republican stronghold of Cherokee County when the elections opened at 7 a.m.

At 7:50 a.m., officials said a total of 39 voters had cast their ballots. No issues were reported.

Polls are open to all of Peach State for the final 2020 cycle election: two races in the US Senate and a seat on the State Civil Service Commission.

The Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler will defend themselves against Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in a tight competition that will rule control of the Senate and steer the direction of Joe Biden’s presidency. Republican Bubba McDonald competes against Democrat Daniel Blackman to get a place in the state utility.

President-elect Joe Biden and President Donald Trump held final rallies in Georgia on Monday to motivate supporters to by painting a picture of what a victorious America would look like with its candidates in power.

The name of today’s game is voter turnout. With more than 3 million early votes cast already, the Democrats are likely in the lead, anchored by strong voting efforts in the Southwest Georgia Black Belt and metropolitan strongholds in Metro Atlanta. Republicans need an avalanche of voters on Jan. 5 , specifically in the 14th Congressional District in the northwest corner of the state, for a chance to fight.

Stephen Fowler is an award-winning reporter and photographer for GPB News who covers state and local politics.

Sarah Rose (she / she) is a reporter for GPB News covering public order issues across the state.

Grant is a multimedia editor and reporter based out of Macon. He also teaches and mentors college journalism students due to the GPB Macon’s office’s relationship with the Center for Collaborative Journalism at Mercer University Georgia defended.

In this episode of Battleground: Ballot Box, we hear from the Secretary of State, a county election officer, an election worker, and a voter about the challenges of a successful November election and the steps they are taking to address them.

Ahead of a crucial election, GPB political reporter Stephen Fowler is hosting a new podcast on the good, bad and complicated votes in Georgia.

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