With 2 weeks until primary, voters worry they won’t get absentee ballots in time

ATLANTA — With just two weeks until the June 9 primary, many of our viewers say they are still waiting for absentee ballots to arrive so they can avoid going to the polls in person.

The Georgia Secretary of State’s office told Channel 2 Action News that 1.6 million Georgians have requested a ballot.

Fulton County resident Michelle Avery Weston told Channel 2 investigative reporter Justin Gray that she applied for her absentee ballot in March.

“It says that it was issued May 17, but today’s the 26th and I have yet to receive it,” Weston said.

In DeKalb County, Lauren Slavich said she has also waited more than a month for her ballot.

“I scanned it and emailed it in on April 21 and haven’t heard anything back about it and am not sure what to do at this point,” Slavich said.

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Channel 2 Action News contacted several metro Atlanta counties to check into the issue.

Fulton County said it has dealt with a major backlog of applications for weeks.

“By close of business today you expect to be caught up?” Gray asked Richard Barron, Fulton County election director.

“Yes, we’ll be caught up today,” Barron said, describing it as a "major step."

“It’s going to be a big relief to get to that point, so we can stay caught up every day,” Barron said.

Dekalb County said right now they have 2 ½-days of backlogged applications to process.

Absentee ballots from every county are being mailed this year from one vendor contracted with the secretary of state.

Gwinnett County election supervisor Kristi Royston told Gray that working with one vendor has helped her office keep up with demand, but also made the ballots more complicated to track.

“That has been a little challenging to know where the ballots are in the process,” Royston said.

Weston said she's starting to worry about getting that ballot in her hands and then back to the county by election day.

“It’s making me nervous. I want my vote to count, and I want everyone’s vote to count,” Weston said.

To check the status of an absentee ballot, go to the My Voter page on the secretary of state’s website.

Long lines and nerves start out first day of early voting for primary If you plan on heading out to the polls, your polling place will likely look very different.

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