The Cobb Elections office is racing against time to ensure that thousands of outstanding absentee ballots reach voters ahead of the upcoming Election Day. After experiencing an unexpected rise in absentee ballot requests, the office is now working in tandem with both postal services and private delivery companies in an initiative to send out more than 3,000 ballots that were not mailed by the initial deadline.
In a strategy aimed to quickly address the backlog, the majority of ballots have been slated to be sent through USPS Express Mail or UPS Overnight Delivery. The board has also taken the additional step to include prepaid express return envelopes to allow the voters to return their ballots swiftly by Tuesday's deadline. "We want to maintain voter trust by being transparent about the situation," Tori Silas, the Board of Elections Chairwoman, stated, highlighting efforts made to tackle the unexpected surge in requests and acknowledging the lack of preparedness and necessary equipment.
With the deadline for submitting absentee ballots looming, Cobb Elections is proactively offering alternatives for those still waiting to receive their ballots. Eligible voters have the option to cast their vote in person during the final day of Advance Voting on Friday or at their designated polling station on Election Day, November 5th. Meanwhile, efforts are specifically concerted towards ensuring the on-time delivery of over 1,000 absentee ballots that need to reach out-of-state voters.
Addressing the setbacks faced in fulfilling the ballot requests, Elections Director Tate Fall detailed the challenges his team encountered with in-house equipment failures after completing the vendor's last run. "By the time we got the equipment online, the deadline for mailing the ballots had passed," Fall told the press. He further explained the office's decision to partner with USPS and UPS to undertake extraordinary measures to dispatch the ballots expediently.
The sheer volume of absentee ballot requests in the final stretch before the deadline overwhelmed the Elections office, which normally saw an average of 440 requests per day. This number dramatically escalated to 750 daily requests in the last week, spiking to 985 on the final day. In response to this surge and the need for prompt action, the Elections Headquarters has extended its weekend hours for absentee ballot returns. Located at 995 Roswell Street, Marietta, the facility will welcome voters from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday, and again from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday.
For any concerns or questions about their absentee ballot request, voters are instructed to contact the Cobb Elections Department directly at 770-528-2581.
