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Athens-Clarke County board extends evening early-voting hours, rejects extra week at Miriam Moore
Summary
The Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections voted to extend early-voting hours to 7 p.m. Monday'Thursday in the final week before the May election but declined to add a second week of early voting at the Miriam Moore site after debate about access, cost and turnout data.
The Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections voted to extend early-voting hours to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday during the final week of advanced voting for the May election, and declined a separate motion to add a second week at the Miriam Moore site.
Chair Raffel opened new business on the board'staff proposal for advance voting, which covers April 27 through May 15. Elections staff said the baseline staff labor projection for the office's proposal was $58,897; a plan that would operate all sites from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. was estimated at about $64,280, putting the proposal roughly $19,730 over earlier projections. Staff said adding an extra week at Miriam Moore would add about $6,050 in labor costs.
"Our staff proposal currently will cost $58,897 just for full worker labor costs," an elections staff member said during the presentation. The board pressed staff for turnout data and operational detail to weigh cost against access.
Public commenter Barbara Turner told the board to "take a long hard look at your advanced timing of your locations" and warned that pending state legislation limiting mail-in ballots would make in-person access especially critical. "Access to the polls and voting is very critical," she said.
Board members debated competing goals: expanding hours to capture commuters and working residents, preserving consistent hours across sites, and targeting limited resources to neighborhoods with greater transportation barriers. One member urged a consistent approach across locations to reduce voter confusion; others argued for targeted additional days at Miriam Moore to reach older, walkable neighborhoods.
After discussion, the board voted to extend hours until 7 p.m. Monday'Thursday, May 11'14, with Friday remaining needed for equipment uploads and preparations for election day. A separate motion to open Miriam Moore for an additional week (May 4'8, 8 a.m.'5 p.m.) failed.
Members asked staff to provide detailed location-by-location turnout data from prior elections (including 2024 primary and general reports) so the board can assess whether site-specific additions merit future budget changes. The election calendar remains on track: advanced voting April 27'May 15 and election day May 19.
