BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (NewsNation Now) — Hundreds of people showed up Monday to an Alabama courthouse to cast their absentee ballot.
Jefferson County voters were complaining the wait time exceeded 4-5 hours and that the clerk’s office was not prepared for the crowds.
“I thought the process would be faster but it has not been. It hasn’t been bad but we just weren’t prepared to stay this long. We thought we would come in, maybe be here 30 to 40 minutes and leave but it’s been an all-day process” Virginia Robinson, a first-time absentee voter, said.
Other voters said they hope the city brings in more workers to help so that the process is smoother.
“I don’t know what the problem is. All I know is in my 4 or 5 hours here, less than 200 people have been able to vote all day. I’ve been here too long to leave. I don’t know what the problem is. The system they have going on now is certainly not working,” Patrick Lacey, another absentee voter, said.
The deadline for absentee ballots to be accepted are five days before Election Day.
It was a similar story just next door in Georgia.
Voters there waited in long lines for as much as six hours to cast their ballot on the first day of early voting. Election officials say turnout was especially high because of the federal holiday.
Early voting in Georgia ends on Oct. 30.
Meanwhile, voters in Ohio who may have received the wrong absentee ballot should be receiving a new one soon. The incorrect ballots were sent out last week. The Ohio Board of Elections director says the agency is working with the post office so the new ballots can be delivered Monday despite it being a holiday.
Ohio election officials say safeguards are in place in case any of the original, incorrect ballots come back. Only one ballot per voter will be counted, according to officials.