ATLANTA – State Representative Karen Bennett (D-Stone Mountain), chair of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus (GLBC), today issued the following statement in response to various challenges Georgia voters have faced as they cast ballots for the state, presidential and general primary election:
“For months the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus voiced its concern about the execution of statewide elections via absentee balloting, early voting and primary day voting. As we feared, the overall primary process has been an abysmal failure.
“We understand that the COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected our capacity to conduct elections as in the past; however, ample time and resources were provided to ensure Georgians could vote safely and with minimal inconvenience. It seems whatever planning the Georgia Secretary of State and county boards of election and registration undertook did not bring about the outcome we sought. In fact, the opposite has taken root.
“The GLBC has received reports of precincts without voting machines, voters being asked to vote provisionally rather than by emergency ballots and citizens waiting three to five hours to cast their ballots. This does not reinforce confidence in our electoral process. I urge the state legislature and the governor to conduct a full and thorough investigation as to what caused the failures we are now witnessing and to put the necessary policies, requirements and remedies in place that will preclude this voter suppression atrocity from ever happening again.
“It is critical for our democracy that voters are ensured that the entire election process is handled with the seriousness, highest integrity and fortitude it deserves. Furthermore, the Secretary of State should be held accountable to ensuring an equitable, fair and reliable process and answer to the people when this does not happen.”
Established in 1975, the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus is a 501(c)3 non-profit, nonpartisan organization comprised of 65 Georgia House and Senate members.
For more information about the GLBC, please click here.
Representative Karen Bennett represents the citizens of Districts 94, which includes portions of DeKalb and Gwinnett counties. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2012 and currently serves on the Code Revision, Economic Development & Tourism, Health & Human Services and Regulated Industries committees.
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