Live updates: Polls are open in Macon on Election Day. Here’s what voters are saying.
Editor’s note: This story is no longer being updated.
A highly-anticipated U.S. Election Day has arrived.
The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Georgia Tuesday as the state will play a major factor in deciding whether Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris will replace Joe Biden or if Republican former President Donald Trump will be elected again.
Aside from the presidential race, ballots in Macon will include a variety of more local races, such as the race for Georgia’s 2nd and 8th Congressional Districts and five state House districts — including a newly redrawn District 145 up for grabs for the first time. In neighboring Middle Georgia counties, key sheriff’s races in Houston, Peach, and Crawford will be on the ballot.
The ballot will also include three proposed Georgia constitutional amendments voters can decide whether to pass or not, including a general law statewide homestead exception, a proposal to enact a statewide tax court, and a measure to raise the amount of personal property tax exemption from $7,500 to $20,000.
For those who have not mailed in their absentee ballots, they must be turned in to the Board of Elections office at the Macon Mall by 7 p.m. Tuesday. Those planning to vote in person can find their polling precinct by visiting Georgia’s “My Voter Page” at mvp.sos.ga.gov or call 478-621-6622.
Looking for more information on the races in Middle Georgia? Find them below.
- Meet the candidates running for Middle Georgia’s U.S. House District 8
- Meet the candidates running for Middle Georgia’s U.S. House District 2
- Meet the candidates running for several state House races
- Meet the candidates running for sheriff in Houston, Peach and Crawford
More bomb threats in GA, some polling places open later
5:45 p.m.- Four other polling locations were impacted by bomb threats later Tuesday, in addition to the two locations evacuated this morning. Two of those locations were in Fulton County, while one was in Gwinnett County and one was in Clayton County.
Law enforcement received word that two polling locations were going to receive bomb threats in Fulton County. They evacuated the locations for about half an hour while they investigated the threats and swept the locations, but found no danger.
A polling location in Gwinnett County and a location in Clayton County also received threats and had to close temporarily.
The Fulton and Gwinnett polling locations were granted court orders to stay open beyond the statewide 7 p.m. closing time.
Federal and local officials said the threats are not credible and they believe Russia is behind them.
Warnings about KKK attacks in GA debunked
5 p.m. - A chain text message that has been shared online and sent to a number of people in Georgia purports that the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office is warning of KKK attacks on and after Election Day.
“Be on Alert... Last night, a deputy told a family that local White Supremacists/KKK members originating out of Lexington, NC, are planning to attack from now until the Inauguration,” the message reads. “They are plotting against Blacks, especially black women because in their eyes, we are easy targets!”
Later in the message, it insists that it “is not a rumor or hoax.”
The Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office made a post clarifying that they have not received any information about threats on or after Election Day. The Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office, which was also made aware of the fake message, shared a similar post debunking the claims.
The message is instead what’s known as a “copypasta,” which is when a piece of text is copied and shared widely.
“Hateful discourse such as this aims to instill fear in the community and disrupt us from exercising our constitutional rights,” The Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office wrote in their post. “
Concern over campaign promises
4:15 p.m. - Reproductive rights were at the top of a 20-year-old middle class voter’s mind, minutes after voting for the first time.
Jamiriah Henry, a Macon resident and student at Gordon State College, voted for what she described as “basic human rights.” Henry cast her ballot at Middle Georgia State University.
“I don’t feel like a man or anybody else should be able to tell me what my rights are with my body,” Henry told The Telegraph. “I stand behind that heavy.”
However, she was worried neither former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris would stand by their promises if elected.
“I do feel like (Harris) supports lower class more than a Republican would, of course,” Henry said. “I feel like the only iffy thing is you can say you’re going to do something, but it’s if you’re really going to do it.”
Tabling near the polls
3:50 p.m. - DJs were posted up outside of various voting sites in Macon and Gray to encourage people to vote, but a poll worker was unsure about the legality of blasting music near a voting place.
Cheryl Byrd, the election worker, said she has had three strokes and can’t hear very well, but she heard music from inside the polling site at Lake Wildwood clubhouse on Thomaston Road.
“I know I have brain trauma, I just don’t understand a DJ at a voting precinct,” Byrd said. “Like what, does he want us to dance or something? What is the rationale?”
Local DJ known as Sauxe, or Floyd Johnson, had a turntable, speakers and a tent in an outdoor parking lot more than 500 feet away from the indoor voting area. There is no law that would prohibit the 30-year-old from doing so.
No one other than election officials discharging their duties, are allowed to “establish or set up any tables or booths on any day in which ballots are being cast” within 150 feet of the outer edge of a voting building, according to Georgia law.
Byrd said the DJ did not ask to play there. Again, he is not required to.
“People can feel how they feel, I’m just here to make people feel good,” Johnson told The Telegraph.
When will Georgia know how its state voted?
3:30 p.m. - Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Tuesday that Georgia will “get a good idea of what the race looks like ... by the end of the night.” Raffensperger said the vast majority of votes will be tabulated on Tuesday.
Sharp dressed man
1:47 p.m - A man in a snazzy blue suit pumped a Harris-Walz sign above his head while shouting at vehicles on a busy intersection in west Macon.
Carlton Kitchens, 62, stood on the corner of Log Cabin Drive and Mercer University Drive from around 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. Kitchens tried to mimic Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ optimistic energy for the future, he said with a beaming smile.
“I feel the wind for Kamala and Tim,” Kitchens said. “I woke up and put on the blue because I feel blue. I feel blue in Georgia, I feel blue all over.”
He planned to grab a sub at Sid’s for lunch, before heading back out around 5 p.m.
“I’ll just take some hot lemon and tea and come back up in here,” Kitchens said, straining his voice from yelling.
Learning to vote
1:05 p.m. - Two Macon parents taught their 19-year-old daughter to always vote Republican, even if that meant putting a candidate’s personality aside.
The Cruse family voted for all Republican candidates at New Griswoldville Baptist Church’s polling site.
“I think people spend a lot of time trying to like the individual,” Michelle Cruse, 54, said. “It’s not about the person, the personality, the character, it’s about what their goals are, what their visions are for the country moving forward.”
Michelle Cruse added that racist comments by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump would not steer her away from voting for her party.
“Even though I may not, being an African American, have the same types of equal rights as whites… Trump will make moves that will protect the country as a whole.”
Her daughter Jessica Cruse also said Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ efforts to rally Black voters has been performative. She recalled when Beyonce opened for Harris at a recent rally.
“I didn’t choose her because she kept bringing Black performers on stage as if to get the Black’s vote more, to sway us her way, but that’s very unprofessional to me,” Jessica Cruse said. Harris “should not be bringing those ratchet, twerking … all that ghetto stuff to the people.”
Polling locations receive bomb threats
12:05 p.m. - Two Fulton County polling locations received bomb threats Tuesday and had to be evacuated, said Fulton County Director of Registration and Elections Nadine Williams.
There were no bombs, but the two polling locations, the Etris-Darnell Community Center and C.H. Gullat Elementary School, had to be evacuated for about half an hour while authorities investigated.
Fulton County is seeking a court order to extend the hours at these locations beyond the 7 p.m. deadline to make up for the delay.
So far, there have been no threats made against polling locations in Bibb County.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger said in a Tuesday morning press conference that officials believe the threats may be linked to Russia.
“Georgia’s not going to be intimidated,” Raffensperger said during a press meeting, adding Russia “picked on the wrong Georgia.”
DJs at the polls
11:15 a.m. - Voters heard an unorthodox music mix for voting as they passed a DJ booth at Macon Evangelical Church to vote.
It was Junior Plairsir’s, or DJ Rico’s, first time spinning tracks at a polling site. Plaisir planned to play a range of genres, including patriotic songs like “Party in the U.S.A.,” but he felt “The Star-Spangled Banner” could have negative implications for immigrants.
“You have people that come from different countries and they want to hear their anthem,” Plaisir said. “I don’t want them to feel secluded … so I’m going to play all types of music for everybody to just feel like one big family.”
Last year, a woman told him it was wrong to play the song “because of what the U.S. did to her,” the 34-year-old said.
He played at the polling location as part of a volunteer-driven national campaign to get out the vote called “DJs at the polls.”
Poll worker responsibilities Tuesday
10:20 a.m. - A poll worker in Macon-Bibb County wasn’t quite sure of his duties within the first hour of his Election Day shift.
Robert Hargrove, a U.S. Navy veteran, directed voters inside Bruce Elementary School around 8 a.m. Hargrove underwent a brief poll worker training before Election Day, but it was much less instructive than the first and only other time he served as an election worker sometime before the 2000s, he recalled.
“To be honest with you, the training wasn’t that good,” Hargrove said. “I came last night to set up. This morning we almost were set up three minutes after 7 a.m., and I’ve been here since 6 a.m.”
He wasn’t sure what the rest of his Election Day tasks would entail during the anticipated lunchtime and evening rushes of voters. He said he might have to drop off ballots at the Board of Elections Office at Macon Mall after polls close.
“I’ll wait to see what they tell me,” Hargrove said.
Hargrove expected he would be stuck at the polling site for “half the night,” after what happened on election night during Bibb County’s May primary. The elections board worked until early morning to wrap up the final results, which were not confirmed or fully populating on the secretary of state’s website until a day after the election.
Less than half the state has yet to vote
8:30 a.m. - Things may run more smoothly Tuesday at polling places Tuesday because a record-setting number of registered voters in Georgia cast their ballot early — about 4 million of them in total.
“This was the most successful early-voting period in Georgia history because voters trust the process,” Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said about the record. “Four years of progress brought us here. We’re battle-tested and ready.”
Polls have opened in Macon, Georgia
7 a.m. - Polls have opened across Georgia as the state will spend the next 12 hours casting ballots to determine key local, state and federal races, including the presidency.
This is a developing story and may be updated. Stay tuned to macon.com for election results this week.
This story was originally published November 5, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
