The race for governor of Georgia has not yet been decided. Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams has vowed to fight to make sure every single vote is counted and is using her Instagram page to share stories of Georgians who had trouble voting on Election Day to show why she believes that fight is so important.
One of the Georgians highlighted by the gubernatorial hopeful is JaKayla, a freshman at Albany State University. The university is in Dougherty County; the Abrams campaign launched a legal challenge revolving around this very same county due to what Abrams claims is the mishandling of its absentee ballots.
JaKayla didn't speak about the suit but claimed she and her fellow students had an enormous amount of trouble voting on November 6.
"This was my first time voting," JaKayla wrote. "I wanted to vote early, but as a student without a car, I was told to wait because there would be a polling place on campus on Election Day. When I went to vote on Election Day, I was told I had to vote by 'provisional ballot' – then I found out that there were two polling locations on the campus. I asked if I needed to go to the other polling place to vote and was told, 'NO.' I just needed to fill out a provisional ballot."
The freshman wanted to cast a real ballot and contacted the secretary of state's office, which, at that time, was led by Abrams' rival, GOP gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp.
Officials allegedly told JaKayla they didn't know why she wasn't being allowed to cast an ordinary ballot.
Other students faced similar trouble according to the first-time voter.
"There were tons of students who had to fill out provisional ballots," JaKayla wrote. "My roommate, who registered to vote at the same time I did, was told she couldn’t vote, period. They wouldn’t give her a provisional ballot. They told her she was still registered in her hometown of Savannah."
Like Abrams, JaKayla said she isn't pleased with how Georgia handled its last election.
"It's time to speak out," she wrote. "People need to know that these are real experiences. Our nation needs to know."
Kemp has resigned as secretary of state. Saturday, his campaign accused Abrams of "making up numbers" and called her a "disgrace to democracy," the USA Today reports. Kemp currently holds a slim lead of about 1.5 percent.
Abrams' campaign announced Monday it had "found" over 30,000 votes not taken into account by the secretary of state's office.
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