ATLANTA – Leading voting rights organizations, convened by the ProGeorgia coalition, hosted a virtual town hall Monday night to empower voters in historically disenfranchised communities with information about changes in election practices so their voices will be heard in the June 9 primary. The groups answered questions from voters about vote-by-mail, elections during the COVID-19 pandemic, ballot security, and more.
Georgia is emerging as a battleground state in our 2020 elections, but the path to the ballot box is blocked. Georgia’s elections have been delayed twice, voters have received inconsistent instructions to vote absentee, and a new task force threatens to invalidate votes in critical communities. Voting rights groups gave voters critical information to combat confusing and conflicting changes to the upcoming election.
The full video of the virtual town hall can be found here.
“Georgia voters are burdened with uncertainty and confusion surrounding this year’s elections,” said Aklima Khondoker, All Voting is Local Georgia state director. “We want all Georgians to know that we’re here to ensure their voices are heard—no matter what. We will continue to work alongside voters so that they feel safe and prepared at the polls.”
“Georgians have the option to vote by mail during the COVID-19 pandemic so that they are not forced to forfeit their fundamental right to vote because of their concerns about being exposed to the virus by voting in person,” said Julie Houk, managing counsel for Election Protection at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “Voters who are not familiar with Georgia’s absentee vote by mail process or who have other questions about voting during this election cycle may call the non-partisan Election Protection hotline at 1-866-OurVote for assistance.”
“Not only is it every person’s right to vote, every person in Georgia has the right to vote privately,” said Julie Kegley, senior staff attorney and program director for Georgia Advocacy Office.