According to a news release from the county, Cobb Elections is taking urgent steps to handle a surge in absentee ballot requests, collaborating with postal and delivery services to expedite ballot delivery and ensure they are returned by the election deadline. 

Over 3,000 ballots requested by last Friday’s deadline remain unmailed, but most will be sent via USPS Express Mail or UPS Overnight by Friday, with prepaid return envelopes for timely returns. 

“We want to maintain voter trust by being transparent about the situation,” said Board of Elections Chairwoman Tori Silas in the news release. “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.”

“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,” said Silas. “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.”

Voters without ballots can still vote in person on the last advance voting day, which is today, Friday November 1, or on Election Day, Nov. 5. Extended ballot return hours at the Elections Headquarters will also be offered over the weekend.

About the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration

On its web page, the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration describes its mission as follows:

“The mission of the Elections Department is to register citizens of Cobb County to vote; to ensure that elections are free, impartial, fair, accurate, convenient and accessible to all voters; to encourage voter participation; to provide excellent customer service to voters, candidates, and the media; and to help the public understand and follow all laws, rules and regulations.

“The Elections Department, with oversight from the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration, enforces strict adherence to all current Federal, State and Local laws as well as to State Election Board Rules concerning registering to vote and voting, and serves all citizens in election related matters.”

The board has five members, with two appointed by the state legislative delegation, one each appointed by the Cobb Democratic and Republican parties, and one appointed by the Chairwoman of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners.

Since both the majority of the  legislative delegation and the BOC chairwomanship  is Democratic at this time, appointments by Democrats account for four of the five seats.

Here is the current composition of the board: