Are you among at least 123 disenfranchised voters in Peachtree City?

One Peachtree City voter had a tough time voting. One resident of Legacy Ridge at Peachtree City is 96 years old and legally blind. A kind friend picked her up and transported her to the Fayette County Elections Office Early Voting location so she could cast her vote. At 96, time is of the essence.

That senior citizen voted for the Mid-Term General Election and then asked for her Peachtree City Special Election ballot. She was told she’s not eligible because she does not live in Peachtree City. She said she does live in Peachtree City. But, she was told she didn’t and was denied her right to vote in the Special Election.

But wait! Is she a resident?

That question was passed along to me. I checked the records for Legacy Ridge. I found [her address] is inside the boundary of Peachtree City and property tax records show Legacy Ridge is paying over $10,000 per year in taxes to Peachtree City.

So, why did they deny her right to vote?

I continued my investigation with a check of the October 2022 Fayette County Voter roll which lists 16 residents at Legacy Ridge who are registered to vote. Yet none of them have the Municipal code entered for them to vote in the Peachtree City municipal election. That’s a serious error and constitutes “voter suppression.”

But wait! Are Legacy Ridge residents the only disenfranchised Peachtree City voters? No.

A further check of the Fayette County Voter rolls shows several others in the same neighborhood also lack the correct Municipal code. That makes it a more serious error and constitutes a bigger scale of “voter suppression.” It also means that it was not just a single address that lacks the correct municipal code.

But wait! Are any other neighborhoods affected? Yes.

A check of Fayette County Voter rolls shows all of the street names in the Longboat Subdivision lack the correct Municipal code to vote in the Peachtree City municipal election. Longboat was annexed in October 2021. That’s a major case of voter suppression. It means voters in two separate annexations lack the proper municipal code.

At a minimum, we found 117 Peachtree City residents who lack the municipal code that identifies them as Peachtree City residents. They are being denied their right to vote. Since our original research we found 6 more who are disenfranchised. We now have 123, and counting.

Our patriotic 96-year-old Peachtree City resident was denied her right to vote in the Peachtree City Special election. And they failed to let her vote a provisional ballot that would have let her complete a ballot, and they could then investigate the facts to determine if they would count the ballot or deny the vote.

Is this a serious mistake? Yes. This is a serious mistake.

Who made the error? Well that depends on which error you are referring to.

If you are referring to the error the poll worker made. They should have listened to our 96-year-old citizen and her friend who drove her to the Election Office Early Voting location.

Georgia has specific regulations about Provisional ballots. Poll workers and poll managers have provisional ballots available for just this sort of claim. Poll workers are not obligated to conduct an investigation on the spot. Instead, a provisional ballot is used to permit the elector to record their vote selections and then within 72 hours provide proof they are eligible to cast that ballot. The County Registrar examines the facts and a decision is rendered whether the ballot will be counted in the election.

If you are referring to the error that 123 Peachtree City residents lack the proper municipal code to vote, that’s a different issue. The State Election Board should order an investigation to determine if each involved agency followed proper procedures.

Peachtree City must make notifications when they annex land into their city. If they made the proper notification, then you look at who they report to, what they did with the information, and who they are required to notify.

Someone along the process has to notify the Fayette County Tax Assessor and the Fayette County Elections Department (or Georgia Elections Department) to change the municipal code for all registered voters within an annexed area.

Quite honestly, right now we do not know who made the error that caused at least 123, and possibly more, Peachtree City residents to be turned away at the polls.

But, disenfranchising 123 people in this Special Election is a major case of voter suppression. An investigation must be done. And the results of the investigation must be made public.

123 votes could mean the difference between 2nd and 3rd place and whether you advance to a run-off if one is needed.

We have a right to know. Every candidate has a right to know.

Every candidate in the Special Election in Peachtree City has “legal standing” which gives them the right to file an affidavit with the Elections Office regarding this issue. One candidate filed an affidavit on Thursday, October 20, demanding that a hand count of the original ballots be commenced on November 9, that the Georgia State Election Office investigate this matter to determine if more than the 123 electors are disenfranchised, and all disenfranchised voters are contacted immediately to notify them of their legal right to cast a provisional ballot, especially if they were turned away or denied an absentee ballot.

If you live in the referenced area, or know someone who does, please share this with them. Also be sure to tell them to insist on voting the provisional ballot for the Special Election.

If you know someone who was denied their right to vote in the Special Election and is a Peachtree City resident, tell them to return to the polling location and ask for the Special Election provisional ballot. I don’t want anyone to lose their right to vote because their municipal code was not updated following a past annexation.

Our 96-year-old citizen is returning to the polls on Monday. She will demand a provisional ballot for the Special Election in Peachtree City. She will vote. If this is important enough for our 96-year-old, legally blind resident, it should be important to you.

If you know you know you are a resident of Peachtree City and were turned away, please go back and demand a “provisional ballot” and follow the directions they give you.

If you left the poll before voting in the Peachtree City Election because the lines were so long, you can go back because it’s a separate election and ballot. You can still vote for the City Council seat, if you simply go back.

I know from personal observation that the lines at the Tyrone Early Voting location were shorter than the Peachtree City location. Tyrone Early voting is at 945 Senoia Road, Tyrone. Fayette County voters can vote at any of the four early voting locations.

Please vote.

[Suzanne Brown is retired after 21 years in federal law enforcement, has a BS from Cornell and an MS from Colorado State, and has lived in Peachtree City for 3 years. She often speaks at local government meetings during public comment time, pointing out various laws and regulations that need to be followed to preserve our communities, and in support of a patriotic agenda.]