Cobb County clarifies HD-45 voting confusion triggered by GA Secretary of State website

The mouth of a ballot box with the text "Insert Ballot Here"Ballot Box (Photo: Cobb County Courier/Larry Felton Johnson)

Cobb County posted an announcement that clarifies the erroneous information on the Georgia Secretary of State’s My Voter Page about eligibility to vote in the House District 45 special election for the 2022 Election. The Secretary of State’s office updated the information in MVP to the new district maps without taking into account that the special election was for the district in the current boundaries.

The announcement reads as follows:

IMPORTANT VOTER INFORMATION FOR HD45 SPECIAL ELECTION

Advance Voting for the special election in Georgia House District 45 will continue until April 1.  There has been confusion over who is eligible to vote in this election.  This SPECIAL ELECTION is being held in the OLD district map precincts. 


PLEASE NOTE:

The Secretary of State’s last press release on the HD-45 election

In this press release from the Secretary of State about the HD-45 special election, issued February 11, there is no mention of voter eligibility:

(Atlanta) – Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced Friday the date of the special election required for Georgia House District 45 to fill a vacancy due to the resignation of Representative Matt Dollar.

The special election will be held on April 5, 2022 for the district, which includes parts of Cobb and Fulton counties. A runoff, if needed, shall be held on May 3, 2022.

Qualifying for the special election shall be held at the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office at 2 MLK Jr. Drive, Suite 802, Floyd West Tower, Atlanta, Georgia 30334.  The dates and hours of qualifying will be Wednesday, February 16, 2022 beginning at 9:00 a.m. and ending at 5:00 p.m., Thursday, February 17, 2022 beginning at 8:00 a.m. and ending at 5:00 p.m., and Friday, February 18, 2022 beginning at 8:00 a.m. and ending at 1:00 p.m.  The qualifying fee shall be $400.00.

Monday March 7, 2022 is the last day to register to vote for the special election. Advance in-person absentee voting will begin on March 14, 2022.