New voting regulations threw both voters and election workers some

curves this year, resulting in tempers that matched the temperature during

recent primaries.

Most frequently heard complaint: Precinct changes that voters swear

they never knew out about until they showed up at their old polling place and were

sent to another, sometimes miles away.

Camille Kelsey, poll manager at The Gathering Place in Peachtree City

said one voter became "very irate" when

told his precinct had changed.

"He swore up and down he had not received notice of the change," Kelsey

said, "until his wife said, `Here it is, dear'

and pulled out her card with their new precinct on it."

Kelsey said she sent 80 to 100 would-be voters to other precincts, most

to Braelinn Elementary School or to the library building. A majority of those

who had to shift were residents of nearby Fisher's Bank subdivision.

Many complained that they lived "just across the street," but had to go

home and get in cars or golf carts to drive to the more distant library.

"It concerned me that we had to send so many people away," said Ann

Cook, a clerk at Kelsey's precinct. "It was

an inconvenience to people who vote regularly, but somebody's always going to

be `across the street.' And there were a lot of elderly people in that precinct.

Most of them were very accommodating."

of 1,500 eligible. Other precincts had similar stories.

Workers at Precinct #12, at the library, said they noted about 40 voters who

were sent there from other precincts. And they sent a similar number elsewhere, most

to First Baptist Church, one of the new polling sites.

Changes in Fayette precinct locations were necessitated by shifts in

population, said Carolyn Combs, Fayette County elections manager. Precincts are

designed to number fewer than 2,000 registered voters. On Jan. 1, six polling places

were added to relieve crowding at some of the county's fastest-growing precincts.

Four of them were in Peachtree City.

A small turn-out for the March local options sales tax referendum meant

that there were many for whom the July primary was the first election since

the change. Poll workers are braced for an even larger number of confused

voters coming to the polls in November.

"New precinct cards were sent out," Combs said. "Voters were notified of

the change. But every time we make a change, we go through this."

More than 17,000 of Fayette County's 47,663 registered voters had changes

in their polling places this year. The changes are made in the elections office

computer, which is linked to the master computer in the Secretary of State's office.

The change cards are printed at the state level, but sent to Fayette County for

mailing, Combs said.

Kelsey pointed out that the mailing includes a Fayette County return

address. Combs said many were returned, coming back with new addresses, or

stamped "forwarding time expired."

"We follow up with every one that we can," Combs said, "but we can only

do so much where no forwarding addresses exist."

Other factors that led to confusion included:

Directions to other polling places. Voters who were sent to "the

library" went to the upper level, not realizing

that the polling site is at the back of the building on the lower level, next door to

the police station. By the time they had walked down the steps or moved

their cars once more, voters' sense of civic duty was in disarray.

Having to declare a party. Many states do primaries differently, and

Cook said voters expressed resentment for a procedure that seems to force them

to announce publicly for one party over the other. In Georgia, the two parties

hold simultaneous primaries, and voters must vote in one or the other in order to

have a say in most state and local races.

Identification. I.D. is required now, and may be any state-issued license,

certain court documents, employee I.D., or a Social Security card but NOT a

voter registration card. Not to worry: those without I.D. may sign a statement on

the spot swearing that they are who they say they are.

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