Cobb elections board to discuss early voting schedule

The South Cobb community is encouraged to attend a 3 p.m. meeting Monday at the Cobb Board of Elections where they will consider November election plans for the county’s early voting.

Among the items being proposed is the opening of 12 precincts for three weeks, including two Saturdays, and one additional precinct during the last week of early voting. 

To the dismay of many, the plan does not include early voting on Sundays. Among those concerned that Cobb has no plans to offer Sunday voting is Fair Fight Action, a nonprofit founded by Georgia’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. 

The group is advocating for Cobb County to add Sunday early voting to its plan. In a tweet they sent to Cobb residents, they urged voters to speak up by letting election board members know they want Sunday voting as well as additional locations.

Many point to the 2020 general election cycle chaos for early voting, with many Cobb County voters seeing lines as long as five hours.

Cobb says its early voting sites have gone from two locations being open for two weeks to 12 polling locations open for three weeks of early voting. In not supporting Sunday voting, Cobb County elections director, Janine Eveler, points to staffing issues and says Sunday voting is not necessary. 

Down 21% in staffing, Eveler says she is actively working to hire seasonal employees for the upcoming election. “Because people are hard to come by, it will be better used if we concentrate on the days that most people go to vote,” she said. She cited data from surrounding counties suggesting that voter turnout on Sundays is significantly lower than Saturdays and weekdays.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and others disagree with Everly. The AJC previously reported that over 71,000 voters cast ballots on Sundays in the 2020 presidential election with counties that offered this to voters. 

Those supporting Sunday voting. Including Fair Fight, say not offering this service curbs ballot access, particularly for Black voters. They point to “Souls to the Polls”, a long-standing tradition among Black churches. Congregants are encouraged to go vote together after church services and are often provided transportation, which has often been an obstacle for many getting to the polls to vote.