Richmond County leaders call for expanded voter access

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Georgia officials confirm Richmond County has one of the lower voter turnout rates in the state.

That’s based on the total number of registered voters and how many come out.

We spoke to leaders in Augusta who are calling on the Richmond County Board of Elections to expand access to the polls in hopes of fixing the issue.

“Yes. So one of the bottom two right now,” said Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

Raffensperger says the data shows Richmond County is the second lowest county when it comes to early voter turnout.

Executive Director of the Richmond County Board of Elections Travis Doss says this is normal until the county opens up more polling sites.

“It doesn’t surprise me that we maybe have been low these two weeks. We’re actually voting more people than what we have voted before on these first two weeks. And it’s not unusual that on that last week we make up the difference from other counties our size,” he said.

It wasn’t a response to being the second lowest, but the county opened up three more polling locations that voters like Lola Gunter are already taking advantage of.

“I’m usually a last-minute person, and at the last minute things happen, and I didn’t want anything to happen to keep me from voting,” she said.

She agrees with the decision to expand access.

“I think that was a wise decision to open this one early,” said Gunter.

Augusta Commissioner Jordan Johnson was a part of a news conference Wednesday because he thinks more could be done, expanding the hours to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to cast their ballot.

“It is essential to make sure that people who work full time can vote, people who have doctors’ appointments can vote, and anything else that may come up that could prohibit access to a ballot,” he said.

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