(PHOTOS) Shortened early voting period creates long lines for runoff
People wait in line around noon at Tucker-Reid H. Cofer Library in Tucker to cast their ballots in the Georgia Senate runoff election between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker during the next-to-last day of advance voting on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. Photo by Dean Hesse.
DeKalb County, GA — In 2020, Georgia voters had three weeks of early voting in the runoff between then-candidate Raphael Warnock and then-Senator Sen. Kelly Loeffler.
Warnock won that race.
Following that election, Republicans changed the law to shorten the runoff window from nine weeks to four weeks. As a result, voters had less than two weeks of early voting to choose between Sen. Warnock and his opponent, Herschel Walker, in the Dec. 6 runoff election.
As a result, early polling sites in DeKalb County have reported long lines in addition to record-breaking turnout.
The last day to vote early in the Dec. 6, 2022 runoff election is Friday, Dec. 2. For more information about early voting, click here. To see the current wait times at early voting locations, click here.
Erik Burton, a spokesperson for DeKalb Voter Registration and Elections, said the county is not short on election workers.
“The simple answer is because of the reduced timeline related to the advanced voting period for a runoff,” Burton said. “However, we are seeing a large number of eager voters and record turnout, which is happening statewide.”
One poll worker Decaturish spoke to said workers have seen an overwhelming turnout.
“Every day of the runoff so far (at my early voting precinct) has been on par with the last day of early voting before the first election day in November,” the poll worker said.
People wait in line around noon at Tucker-Reid H. Cofer Library in Tucker to cast their ballots in the Georgia Senate runoff election between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker during the next-to-last day of advance voting on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. Photo by Dean Hesse.
People wait in line around noon at Tucker-Reid H. Cofer Library in Tucker to cast their ballots in the Georgia Senate runoff election between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker during the next-to-last day of advance voting on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. Photo by Dean Hesse.
People wait in line around noon at Tucker-Reid H. Cofer Library in Tucker to cast their ballots in the Georgia Senate runoff election between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker during the next-to-last day of advance voting on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. Photo by Dean Hesse.
People wait in line around noon at Tucker-Reid H. Cofer Library in Tucker to cast their ballots in the Georgia Senate runoff election between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker during the next-to-last day of advance voting on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. Photo by Dean Hesse.
The line at the DeKalb Voter Registration and Election Office in greater Decatur extends outside in the early afternoon as people wait to cast their ballots in the Georgia Senate runoff election between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker during the next-to-last day of advance voting on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. Photo by Dean Hesse.
People wait in line in the early afternoon at Bessie Branham Recreation Center in Kirkwood to cast their ballots in the Georgia Senate runoff election between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker during the next-to-last day of advance voting on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. Photo by Dean Hesse.
People wait in line in the early afternoon at Bessie Branham Recreation Center in Kirkwood to cast their ballots in the Georgia Senate runoff election between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker during the next-to-last day of advance voting on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. Photo by Dean Hesse.
People wait in line in the early afternoon at Bessie Branham Recreation Center in Kirkwood to cast their ballots in the Georgia Senate runoff election between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker during the next-to-last day of advance voting on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. Photo by Dean Hesse.
People wait in line in the early afternoon at Bessie Branham Recreation Center in Kirkwood to cast their ballots in the Georgia Senate runoff election between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker during the next-to-last day of advance voting on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. Photo by Dean Hesse.
People wait in line in the early afternoon at Bessie Branham Recreation Center in Kirkwood to cast their ballots in the Georgia Senate runoff election between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker during the next-to-last day of advance voting on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. Photo by Dean Hesse.
People wait in line in the early afternoon at Bessie Branham Recreation Center in Kirkwood to cast their ballots in the Georgia Senate runoff election between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker during the next-to-last day of advance voting on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. Photo by Dean Hesse.
People wait in line in the early afternoon at Bessie Branham Recreation Center in Kirkwood to cast their ballots in the Georgia Senate runoff election between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker during the next-to-last day of advance voting on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. Photo by Dean Hesse.
People wait in line in the early afternoon at Bessie Branham Recreation Center in Kirkwood to cast their ballots in the Georgia Senate runoff election between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker during the next-to-last day of advance voting on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. Photo by Dean Hesse.
People wait in line in the early afternoon at Bessie Branham Recreation Center in Kirkwood to cast their ballots in the Georgia Senate runoff election between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker during the next-to-last day of advance voting on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. Photo by Dean Hesse.
People wait in line in the early afternoon at Bessie Branham Recreation Center in Kirkwood to cast their ballots in the Georgia Senate runoff election between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker during the next-to-last day of advance voting on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. Photo by Dean Hesse.
The line at the DeKalb Voter Registration and Election Office in greater Decatur extends outside in the early afternoon as people wait to cast their ballots in the Georgia Senate runoff election between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker during the next-to-last day of advance voting on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. Photo by Dean Hesse.
People wait in line in the early afternoon at Bessie Branham Recreation Center in Kirkwood to cast their ballots in the Georgia Senate runoff election between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker during the next-to-last day of advance voting on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. Photo by Dean Hesse.
People line up in the early afternoon at Bessie Branham Recreation Center in Kirkwood to cast their ballots in the Georgia Senate runoff election between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker during the next-to-last day of advance voting on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. Photo by Dean Hesse.
People wait in line around noon at Tucker-Reid H. Cofer Library in Tucker to cast their ballots in the Georgia Senate runoff election between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker during the next-to-last day of advance voting on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. Photo by Dean Hesse.
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