Metro Atlanta counties delayed and even shut down several early voting locations Thursday because of power outages from Tropical Storm Zeta.
At one point Thursday morning, more than 1 million people were without power in Georgia. That number is slowly decreasing but still high.
Crews across the area are working to clean up downed trees and powerlines that fell across roads, on cars and on houses.
[COUNTY-BY-COUNTY: Where can I early vote in north Georgia?]
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says 16 counties had early voting sites either open late or not at all on Thursday.
Douglas County initially closed all of its early voting locations Thursday morning, but reopened Dog River Library and Boundary Water Aquatic Center after lunchtime.
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“It is disappointing because I don’t want to wait until the last minute. I just want to get it out of the way and done with,” said Douglas County voter Pamela Rangel.
The county says all 6 of its locations were down because of power outages. All sites will reopen Friday at 8 a.m.
Rockdale and Cobb counties delayed all advanced voting to start later Thursday morning, while Fulton and Henry counties had to delay the start of early voting at certain locations.
Power Outages & other issues have delayed opening of early voting at locations including: Ponce de Leon Library, Wolf Creek Library, Adams Park Library, Chastain Park, East Roswell Library, Helene Mills Senior Center, Milton Library, Etris Community Center, Milton Library
— FultonCountyGeorgia (@FultonInfo) October 29, 2020
ALERT: WEATHER RELATED DELAYED OPENING
— Henry County (@HenryCounty) October 29, 2020
The polling place at Locust Grove Library: 115 M.L.K. Jr. Blvd., Locust Grove will delay opening this morning, due to power lines being down. Check back here https://t.co/v9nkcKvCdA for updates or to find a different polling place near you.
Georgia Power is prioritizing those sites along with Tuesday polling places.
“Georgia Power understands the critical importance of elections and we’re really thankful for them in getting these polling locations up as soon as possible,” said Raffensperger.
Unlike on election day, where counties can get judicial orders to extend hours if they didn’t open on time, each county gets to set the days and hours for their early voting so there’s no requirement to extend hours.
GEORGIA VOTER GUIDE:
- INTERACTIVE MAP: Where can I drop off my absentee ballot in metro Atlanta?
- Georgia Voters: How to check if my absentee ballot was received?
- What To Know About Voting in Person in Georgia
- Amendments and resolutions on Georgia ballot: What do they mean?
- Electoral College: How does it work; what happens if there is a tie?
