Georgia voter living overseas shares mail-in ballot struggles: "I did not know what to do"

A Cobb County voter living in Kenya nearly missed her chance to cast a ballot in the midterms after her absentee ballot application was rejected without a clear explanation.

Phyllis Byrd submitted her application on Oct. 16. A day before the Oct. 23 request deadline, she received an email from Cobb County Elections and Registration that it had been rejected.

"I was so depressed about what was happening because I did not know what to do or where to turn," Byrd said.

Byrd said the rejection notice did not clearly explain what went wrong or provide instructions for correcting the application.

"The email from the county said they would send me a letter and I should log into my account for more details about the rejection. I logged into the account and didn't find any additional information," she said.

According to Cindy Battles, the policy and engagement director for the Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda, Byrd's application encountered several problems during processing. Battles said the application was flagged for a signature issue and an error with the form. Byrd is working in Kenya and said she tried to enter her Kenyan address in the online form but couldn't. She instead used her Georgia address, which also matches her driver's license.

Battles said Byrd appeared to have accessed the wrong application and, by using her domestic address, appeared to have contributed to the application being routed to the department handling voters in the continental United States rather than the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act division, also called UOCACA. That division handles absentee voting for overseas and military voters. Processing errors and the delay in notifying Byrd left little time to fix the application before the deadline.

She said Byrd's experience highlighted broader concerns about how Georgia handles absentee ballot applications, particularly for Americans overseas. She said one concern is the state's limited window for requesting absentee ballots. Battles believes that the deadline can create significant challenges when applications are rejected close to cutoff, leaving voters with little time to correct mistakes.

Battles also questioned the lack of specific information in the rejection notices. In some cases, voters may receive a rejection reason listed as "other" without an explanation of the problem or clear instructions on what to do next. She said that kind of communication Byrd received from Cobb County can leave voters unsure whether they can still fix their applications or if they lost their chance to vote.

"One of the biggest problems with the way that they reject your ballot is, the email that she got just said the reason for the rejection was other, and how in the world are you supposed to know what the problem is because it is some uninformed category? The county should have an email that says, 'These are the issues that we found with your ballot. These are the ways that you can fix it,'" Battles said.

She also raised concerns about whether resource and staffing challenges in large metro counties, including Cobb and Fulton, where the number of applications and processing demands can cause delays. She also stated that issues about whether online systems adequately identify overseas voters and direct them to the correct forms and procedures should be assessed in the state.

After learning about Byrd's situation, Battles contacted Cobb County election officials to help determine what happened and find a solution. She said she coordinated with county employees to address the application issues. County officials agreed to send Byrd her absentee ballot once she provided her international address.  

"I received it at 3 a.m. and went to mail it. DHL assured me it would arrive on Nov. 3rd," Byrd said. "I was in tears."

Battles said voters living abroad must be proactive when applying for absentee ballots and must verify that they are using the correct application.  

"Double-check the forms before you submit it. Go on mvp.sos.ga.gov and check that it has been received and what the status is. When you get that email and you need assistance in rectifying the issue, call us at 866-OUR-VOTE or call your county's elections office," she explained.