COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Officials said Cobb Elections is working with postal and delivery companies to expedite the delivery of thousands of absentee ballots to voters following a surge of last-minute applications.
According to a county release, as of Wednesday, more than 3,000 absentee ballots requested by last Friday's deadline had not been mailed.
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Elections workers sent most of them via USPS Express Mail or UPS Overnight Delivery by Friday morning. It's likely out-of-state voters who requested absentee ballots would get those by Saturday. The ballots will include prepaid express return envelopes to ensure voters can return them by Tuesday's deadline, officials said.
Cobb County Board of Elections Chairwoman Tori Silas said the board wants to maintain voter trust by being transparent about the situation.
"We are taking every possible step to get these ballots to the voters who requested them. Unfortunately, we were unprepared for the surge in requests and lacked the necessary equipment to process the ballots quickly," Silas said. "I think it’s just indicative of the historic nature of this particular election and all of the interest in this election."
Voters who have not received their ballots can still vote in person on Friday, the final day of Advance Voting or at their polling place on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5.
In addition, election officials are working with UPS to expedite the delivery of more than 1,000 absentee ballots being sent out of state.
According to a release, Cobb Elections had contracted with a state-approved vendor to print and ship the absentee ballots. Elections Director Tate Fall said equipment issues prompted these delays.
“After our vendor’s final run on Friday, we needed to utilize our in-house equipment for the final shipment of ballots, but the equipment was not working properly," Fall said. "By the time we got the equipment online, the deadline for mailing the ballots had passed, prompting us to work with the US Postal Service and UPS to take extraordinary measures. Our team has been working around the clock to get the ballots out.”
Absentee ballot requests were averaging around 440 per day. However, in the last week, that number surged to 750 per day -- with 985 requests submitted on Friday's deadline.
Cobb County voter Jessica Oliver elected to vote absentee by mail, but she did not want to leave her vote to chance. 11Alive caught up with the healthcare worker, who said her work schedule wouldn't allow her to vote in-person on Election Day.
"I just to make sure the vote is counted," Oliver said. "A sense of urgency and know that their vote has been counted and that it physically made it here. I know the mail system has been a little crazy."
The U.S. Postal Service recommended Tuesday as the deadline to mail back in absentee ballots. USPS has received criticism in the past over mail delays.
Cobb Elections is extending the hours for absentee ballot returns at the Elections Headquarters this weekend. Voters can return their ballots to the address at 995 Roswell Street, Marietta, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday and 8 a.m. to 8 a.m. on Monday.
Anyone with questions about their absentee ballot request can call the Cobb Elections Department at 770-528-2581.