Unofficial signs have been popping up around downtown Decatur with a voting deadline that simply isn't true, telling passersby they can vote early every day through Nov. 30. In reality, early voting in DeKalb County wraps up this Friday, Oct. 30, with Election Day following on Nov. 3.
The mismatched signage was reported by decaturish.com, which reported that a crop of misleading early voting signs has been placed throughout downtown. One version reads “Vote Early Daily ‘til Nov. 30,” a date that falls weeks after the real cutoff. The outlet noted that early voting has already drawn more than 152,000 voters in DeKalb County this cycle, underscoring how many residents are actively relying on accurate deadlines right now.
Decatur resident Vivi Cruz told the site she spotted at least three of the signs on the morning of Oct. 26 while driving her child to school along Church, McDonough and Trinity streets — all high-traffic corridors near the city's core. Another resident, Jennifer Jones-Paratore, said she found the bad information stuck onto otherwise legitimate voting signs and started tearing them down herself. “I myself have taken down five today,” she said, describing her efforts to remove the signs.
County Says the Signs Aren't Theirs
The DeKalb County Board of Voter Registration and Elections has made clear it isn't behind the confusing postings. As reported by WSB-TV, the board said a series of unofficial signs popping up in the county are not from their office and should be ignored. The county added a direct plea to voters: “We strongly encourage voters to rely only on trusted election information from DeKalbVotes.com and the Georgia Secretary of State's Office.”
Oddly, the signs aren't entirely disconnected from the county's real infrastructure. Atlanta News First reported that the website address printed on the signs does redirect to the DeKalb County Voter Registration and Elections site, even though the deadline listed above it is wrong. That detail has only added to the confusion for residents trying to figure out whether the signs are an honest mistake or something more deliberate.
No Calls to Police, No Way to Remove Them
Despite the signs circulating in a prominent part of the city, decaturish.com reported that a Decatur police spokesperson said the department hasn't received any calls about the signs. When Cruz pressed the county elections board directly, officials told her they are not responsible for the signs, do not know who placed them, and cannot legally remove them — leaving the bad information up to residents like Jones-Paratore to physically pull down on their own.
CBS News Atlanta also covered the story, with reporter Emily McLeod detailing the incorrect early voting signs in Decatur in a segment for the station. With early voting closing Friday and Election Day arriving Nov. 3, DeKalb County officials are repeating one message: skip the roadside signage and check DeKalbVotes.com or the Georgia Secretary of State's Office directly before heading to the polls.
