Voters queue at polling station 031 in downtown Atlanta before the polls open Tuesday morning. The station is located in the Center for Civil and Human Rights, a fitting site for casting votes and witnessing democracy in action. It rained overnight in Atlanta, but the inclement weather didn’t stop these lines from forming in the early morning hours.
Steven Davy/The World
The world is watching as Georgia goes to the polls today.
After a contentious campaign between Democrat Stacey Abrams and Georgia Secretary of State Republican Brian Kemp, international vote observers are in Atlanta to watch polling stations. Georgians lined up to vote before polls opened at 7 a.m.
Georgia is also at a crossroads: voters could elect the first black female governor in American history. At the same time, as Secretary of State, Kemp’s office oversees elections and he’s refused to step aside. He’s also faced accusations of voter suppression, allegations he calls “a farce.”
Liberty Baptist Church is down the street from the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King, Jr. and his father were pastors. People there said they waited about 30 minutes in a line that wrapped around the building.Steven Davy/The WorldA red sign points the way to a polling place located along Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard, a main road in Atlanta named after the former two-term mayor who served during the civil rights movement in the 1960s.Steven Davy/The WorldA monument with a quote from Nelson Mandela, the South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and former president, stands outside downtown Atlanta’s Center for Civil and Human Rights. The center is also home to polling station 031, where voters lined up before 7 a.m. to cast ballots. The quote reads: “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”Steven Davy/The WorldInternational monitors from Denmark and Germany were invited to observe the election here in Atlanta. But they were not alone. Aklima Khondoker, left, and a colleague from the ACLU of Georgia and the Election Protection project that was also on site to keep an eye on the vote. “We were looking for any indication of voter suppression or intimidation. We were looking to see if any voters were turned away,” Khondoker said, adding that they did not see any issues at this polling location.Steven Davy/The WorldValerie and Jeffrey Banks pose for a photo after casting their votes. “I feel great,” he said. It took them about an hour to wait in line and vote at this station.Steven Davy/The WorldInternational inspectors Pascal Kober, left, from Germany, and Søren Søndergaard, right, from Denmark, were invited to observe the elections in Georgia. The two arrived at this polling site before it opened at 7 a.m. and spent two hours observing the voting process.Steven Davy/The WorldInternational election monitor Søren Søndergaard studies the Fulton County precinct map, which includes metro Atlanta. On the night before the election, Søndergaard met with Richard Barron, the Fulton County elections director.Steven Davy/The WorldInternational election monitor Søren Søndergaard from Denmark, left, takes a photo for Pascal Kober from Germany in front of the Georgia state capitol building after meetings with state election officials.Steven Davy/The WorldInternational election monitors Søren Søndergaard, left, from Denmark, and Pascal Kober, middle, from Germany, walk back to their car after spending time at Liberty Baptist Church polling location. The monitors look for evidence of tampering with the votes but also spent their time listening, asking questions, learning about the local election process and recording details for a report they file after the election.Steven Davy/The WorldAttorney general candidate Charlie Bailey, right, stands with other supporters at a busy intersection waving to passing cars. Behind them is the Atlanta skyline.Steven Davy/The World
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