Long lines as early voting begins in contentious governor's race

ATLANTA — Early voting is underway in Georgia, where a contentious governor's race tops the ballot.

Georgia residents began to cast their votes Monday in the state's 159 counties. Voting is available each weekday and at least one Saturday.

With all eyes on the race for governor, some officials are predicting a higher than usual turnout for early voting. Many waited in longer lines outside their voting locations.

In-person early voters will use the same touchscreen electronic voting machines the state uses on Election Day.

Absentee by-mail early voting is also still available. About 45,000 ballots had been mailed through Thursday. That's twice as many as at the same point in the 2014 midterm elections.

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Some voters told Channel 2's Tom Regan they waited more than an hour to cast their vote.

Officials said there was a computer network issue and for several hours, poll workers had to process voter credentials manually.

The wait didn’t bother people like Jarrett Roman.

“The turnout is pretty important. It’s big this time. So it’s a good problem to have,” Roman said.

The computer networking problem was resolved by Monday afternoon.

BACKGROUND

During the election four years ago, about 37 percent of voters filled out their ballots before Election Day.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is crossing the state to rally supporters to vote early. Republican Brian Kemp is visiting rural areas to mobilize supporters.

Abrams, Kemp and the Libertarian candidate Ted Metz will debate LIVE on Channel 2 Nov. 4 at 5 p.m.

The latest Channel 2 Action News, Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll shows Abrams and Kemp are in a very tight race.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Cox Media Group