Local

Early voting begins for Georgia's 6th District

ATLANTA — Early voting is underway in the hotly contested Georgia 6th District congressional runoff between Jon Ossoff and Karen Handel.

The district includes parts of Cobb, DeKalb and Fulton counties.

Channel 2’s Richard Elliot went to one polling location in DeKalb County on Tuesday where they had some minor issues getting going.

Karen Handel and Jon Ossoff are in the high-profile race for Georgia's 6th Congressional District.

One issue was because some regular polling places had to be moved because the regular locations were already being used for something else.

Voting was steady at the North DeKalb Senior Center in Chamblee. The poll manager told Elliot they had no problems inside at all.

But some voters said they did have some problems just finding it.

“It was a little bit difficult because I’ve never been to the senior center before, but now I’ve learned they have lots of things here,” voter Sarah Patterson said.

Voters there usually go to the Chamblee Civic Center to cast their ballots but because of the special election and a runoff, the civic center was all booked up, forcing DeKalb to relocate the polling place to the senior center.

Steve Wofford admitted he had a little difficulty finding it too, but things went well once he got inside.

“This is a new location I think for the people that are from here, and it was a little challenging to find it.

In north Fulton County, voters in Sandy Springs got delayed because the county said its EZ-vote machines had a connectivity issue at one polling place.

The Secretary of State's Office said it sent a staff member over to check it out.

It slowed voting down causing a long line, but didn't stop people from casting their votes.

Drew Dolliole told Elliot it was his first time voting.

“It's pretty interesting, but I had plans today, but if it's going to take long, we'll see how it goes,” Dolliole told Elliot

The runoff between Ossoff and Handel is already the most expensive congressional race ever.

Early voting goes through June 16.

Voters can check their registration status, find the correct voting location and request an absentee ballot through the Secretary of State's website.

State law requires that polls be open during normal business hours during the early voting period. State officials recommend checking with your county election agency for details.

Cobb and DeKalb counties also plan to hold Saturday voting hours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on June 10. Fulton County plans Saturday voting from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on June 3 and June 10.

The election is June 20.

Channel 2's Justin Farmer will be the debate moderator. The panel will include Greg Bluestein from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Condace Pressley from News 95.5/AM750 and Richard Elliot from Channel 2 Action News.

The debate will air LIVE on Channel 2, and will be livestreamed on WSBTV.com and the official WSB-TV Facebook page.

BACKGROUND

Tom Price vacated the seat when he became Secretary of Health and Human Services for the Trump Administration.

In the 6th Congressional District special election on April 18, Ossoff fell just short of the majority needed for an outright victory. He drew 48.1 percent of the vote, earning a spot in the runoff.

Handel won a spot in the runoff by capturing 19.8 percent of the vote, taking second place in a field of 18 candidates.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.