After I hadn't received the *two* absentee ballots I requested to vote in today's (January 5, 2021)…read moreGeorgia Senate runoff, I decided to come to this polling location - the Ponce de Leon location of the City of Atlanta / Fulton County Library System - to early-vote in person. I had to complete and sign two affidavits to void my absentee ballots. I completed one of the affidavits in-person here.
I visited on a Tuesday and entered the line at 12:16 PM. I was done and on my way at 12:36 PM, only 20 minutes later. Pretty good.
The entire process was smooth and uneventful. Everyone knew what they were doing, whether they were a poll worker or a voter. All voters showed up masked and stood in line socially-distanced. A couple poll workers monitored and guided the line. Phones could be used outside the library, but not inside. The line moved at a brisk pace. I ran into my neighbor, the Honorable Stephanie Davis, standing in line behind me and we chatted for a bit.
I was seen at the first desk (#1). The masked, soft-spoken lady, behind the wall of plexiglass, was very polite and kind to me. She was also efficient. I explained to her my situation. She had me complete and initial/sign two documents and then directed me to one of the now infamous Dominion voting machines. It had been a while since I voted in-person. I mostly vote by mail for the convenience. I was impressed with how "modern" the system was with activation card, stylus, and giant tablet.
After I made my selections, I had to feed my hard-copy ballot with QR code into the scanning machine myself.
On the ballot were:
Senate:
Kelly Loeffler (R) vs. Raphael Warnock (D)
David Perdue (R) vs. Jon Ossoff (D)
Georgia Public Service Commission:
Lauren McDonald Jr. (R) vs. Daniel Blackman (D)
This runoff is huge because it will determine control of the US Senate. I've never been prouder to be a Georgia voter than these last two elections: November 3, 2020 and January 5, 2021. This state is extremely important right now in terms of politics and the future the country.
For early voting, the parking lot for this library was busy. I just parked on the street: Frederica St NE. It's a residential street and free to park on. There was a poll worker directing traffic in to and out of the lot for those who wanted to try and snag a really close spot.
There was an absentee ballot drop box positioned outside the front door.
Also, right outside the voter exit door, Georgia-based celebrity chef Hugh Acheson (Empire State South, by George) had two guys offering free tacos to voters as they left. The guys had a folding table, warm tacos in insulated containers on wheels, and a chalkboard sign with Hugh's name on it. At first, the thought did not occur to me that what they were doing was illegal. Instead, I thought it was a sly marketing move by Hugh. While perhaps not exactly right, I know they meant well and I thought what they were doing was cool.
The library facility itself was nice. Clean, quiet, and up-to-date. It looks like it's had a facelift relatively recently, inside and out. The library had a small fleet of Dell workstations - that looked to be in good condition - too. Believe it or not, after becoming a Georgia resident in 2000, this was my first time inside an Atlanta public library. It took me over 20 years to get to this point.
Note: As of today, my first absentee ballot is still missing. My second absentee ballot eventually did show up, 13 days after I requested it over the phone with Fulton County.