Elections sites suffer technical delays in key Georgia county

Elections officials in Gwinnett County, Ga., reported that four precincts are experiencing technical delays as voters headed to the polls on Election Day.

Officials told The New York Times that the precincts are experiencing difficulties with the system that produces access cards for the state’s electronic polling system. Gwinnett County spokesman Joe Sorenson told the Times that voters have been provided with paper ballots at three of the four the precincts where problems reportedly persisted into midmorning.

The technical delays come as Election Day voting begins in the state’s hotly contested race for governor between Democrat Stacey Abrams and Republican Brian Kemp, who as Georgia’s secretary of state oversees elections.

{mosads}“We’ve got people who are voting with the paper ballots, and we’ve got people who are standing to wait for the machines to be fixed, and we’ve got people who said they are planning to come back,” Sorenson told the paper. 

Sorenson added that one of the four precincts was able to resume its normal operations, but would likely have to extend its hours for voters because the poll manager did not offer paper ballots when the problems were first reported.

The Times notes that, while Gwinnett County used to be a Republican stronghold, the area has become increasingly diverse and, in turn, more competitive. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton won the county in the 2016 presidential election.

Recent polls have shown a dead heat between Abrams and Kent in the closely watched gubernatorial race.

A RealClearPolitics average of polling shows Abrams trailing Kent by 3 percentage points.