[ad_1]
Gwinnett County, located northeast of Atlanta, now faces two federal lawsuits and accusations of disproportionately affecting minority voters, particularly Asian Americans and African Americans.
The county has rejected 595 absentee ballots, which accounts for a third of the total absentee-ballot, but Gwinnett County accounts for only 6% of absentee ballots submitted in Georgia, by CNN Friday. More than 300 of the rejected ballots belonged to African Americans and Asian Americans.
Officials tossed out the ballots due to missing birthdates, address discrepancies, signatures that do not match those on registration records and other issues, according to the data.
A lawsuit brought forward by the Coalition for Good Governance on behalf of the United States of America.
Court documents in a separate suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the two groups describes the county's rejections as a "constitutional train wreck." That follows specifically challenges the county's rejection of ballots based on signature mismatches, which the following calls a violation of due process. A judge has scheduled a hearing Tuesday.
Gwinnett County released a statement that said it was "committed to a process that protects all of its citizens and fully complies with the law in the process," but some voters found the confusing rejections.
Lilieth Walters, whose ballot was tossed to a signature issue, said she did not know that CNN told her. She said she was working on polls and plans to help others vote on November 6.
"What was the issue with my signature?" she asked. "Maybe I did not sign the same way I normally do, but … a signature should not prevent one from voting."
State data shows Carol Hutcheson's ballot was denied due to a missing date, but she said she was in her absence from the ballot about two weeks ago.
"I'm swearing right now, I'm fuming," said Hutcheson, a Republican.
Three others achieved by CNN said they received letters from the county notifying them of the rejections. The letters included instructions on how to resubmit absentee bales or vote in person. Voters whose absentee ballots were rejected in the election day or in the past.
"Said Clyde Hall," who said he made a mistake when writing his birthdate on his absentee ballot, but he did not consider the rejection of a problem because he could have another ballot.
Gwinnett County spokesperson Joe Sorenson, Deputy Director General of the United States, quoted by the Gwinnett County Board of Election and Elections or the county.
"The handling of absentee ballot applications and the acceptance of ballots by Gwinnett County", "Sorenson said.
Michael McDonald, a University of Florida Associate Professor of Political Science, Gwinnett County tossed out 15% of absentee nerds submitted by Asian Americans, 11.4% of those submitted by African Americans whites.
"It's not the fault of the voters." It's the fault of the election officials for creating a confusing nerd, "McDonald said.
McDonald's shares the problem with the design of the absent absentee ballot. He said to be comparatively high number of Latinos live in Gwinnett County, English and Spanish instructions on the ballots. He said the absentee ballots now contain long strings of bilingual text that could appear confusing.
Kristen Clarke, president of the Washington DC-based advocacy group Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said the racial disparities in the county's rejections set off red flags for her organization.
Clarke's group sent a letter to Gwinnett County, which states that it should be approved by the state of the United States of America. .
"Sadly, this is a pattern we're seeing across this cycle." "We are seeing policies and practices being implemented more heavily than we do," Clarke said.
Clarke's organization and the Campaign Legal Center of the United States of America: "exact match" law, which stipulates that "registration matches must match information on their state ID's or Social Security records. A recent Associated Press reported about 53,000 people, the majority of which are African-Americans, had their registrations placed in limbo because of some type of mismatch.
Georgia's Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who is also running for the Republican candidate for governor, has said that they are voting in the polls.
Kemp has also been called a vote to remove politically driven rallying point for Democrats.
"Despite any claim to the contrary, it has never been easier to register in the United States," Kemp said in a previous press release.
Kemp's spokesperson with the Georgia Secretary of State's Office, Candice Broce, said his office opened an investigation on behalf of the state's election board to ensure counties follow the law on absentee bales.
"We will not be bullied by out-of-state organizations or political operatives who want to generate headlines and advance to a baseless narrative." We will do our part to keep elections secure, accessible, and fair in Georgia, "Broce said.
Source link
