VOTER SUPPRESSION
‘Haven’t Seen This in Any Other Country’: Video of Huge Line of Georgia Voters Waiting to Cast Ballots Goes Viral
The start of early voting in Georgia came Monday morning, and just like in 2018, when Republican Brian Kemp was Secretary of State and in charge of managing elections, the lines are long again.
Secretary Kemp is now Governor Kemp, having won the election over Stacey Abrams amid what many believe was massive voter suppression, which appears to be back today.
Atlanta Journal Constitution reporter Tyler Estep posted this 70-second video to Twitter, which shows a huge line to get in to a Gwinnett County polling station in Suwanee, Georgia, where the population is under 21,000. He says some voters have been in line for four hours already and have yet to cast a ballot.
The video, which has gone viral, is 70-seconds long. Assuming the car was traveling at 20 miles-per-hour, the line is almost a half-mile long.
The line of voters at George Pierce Park in Suwanee…. pic.twitter.com/3stVPEuyZp
— tyler, the reporter (@ByTylerEstep) October 12, 2020
The video has already been seen over 300,000 times in well under two hours.
“Talked to several voters who had been there since 7,” Estep also tweeted, “and were still waiting as 11 am approached. They were told check-in was being ‘glitchy.’ Gwinnett [County spokesperson] said there was ‘intermittent issue with network access … that slowed processing down.'”
Here’s what some are saying:
Deputy editor and Pentagon Correspondent at Defense News:
There’s a temptation to look at this and go “it’s great to see Americans so dedicated to making sure they vote!” And then you realize it doesn’t need to be this hard to vote. It’s only this hard because it was made to be. https://t.co/z8OpKHBCGv
— Aaron Mehta (@AaronMehta) October 12, 2020
CNN’s Jim Sciutto:
Good that they’re so committed to vote, a shame they have to wait so long. I haven’t seen this in any other country I’ve lived in. https://t.co/bjmtdLPptJ
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) October 12, 2020
Political scientist:
No one should have to wait in a line this long in order to participate in our democratic process. This is shameful. https://t.co/AfaizyVO6L
— Miranda Yaver (@mirandayaver) October 12, 2020
Staff writer at The Atlantic:
Georgia – the state, not the country https://t.co/3zVSijg9Gx
— Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum) October 12, 2020
KQED Producer/Reporter:
If this isn’t voter suppression, what is? https://t.co/mHhhNJizIM
— Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez (@FitzTheReporter) October 12, 2020
More:
This is what #VoterSuppression looks like in #Georgia -It should NOT be this hard to #vote but these determined Georgians must endure hours in line. #VoteBlue We’re with you Georgia, hang in there. #Democracy does not mean make it harder to #vote but corrupt GOP thinks this is ok https://t.co/uHwoskaK8e
— mintpattynyc (@mintpattynyc) October 12, 2020
This is what voter suppression looks like.
I guess that’s why some people are against voting by mail: then you can’t pull stunts like this. Unacceptable! https://t.co/QTY1phAdrr
— AukeHoekstra (@AukeHoekstra) October 12, 2020
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