By Amanda Cooper
A water leak at the State Farm Arena will slightly delay the counting of over 80k absentee ballots in Fulton County.
Fulton County elections officials confirmed a water leak in a room at State Farm Arena where absentee ballots were being tabulated this afternoon. At approximately 6:07 a.m., the staff at State Farm Arena notified Fulton County Registration & Elections about the leak, saying they acted swiftly, and within 2 hours, the repairs were complete.
According to Fulton County Elections Chief Dwight Brower and Registration Chief Ralph Jones Sr, no ballots were damaged, nor was any equipment affected; however, there was a brief delay in tabulating absentee ballots while the repairs were being conducted.
Fulton has the largest population of any county in the state and could possibly decide which candidate will claim Georgia's two U.S. Senate seats.
During an Election's Update press conference, Fulton County Elections Director Richard Barron says the county will report results from in-person early voting today, then Election Day results and 86,000 absentee ballots over the next two days. These represent the vast majority of votes cast within Fulton County.
In a statement, the Fulton County Elections' office stated that they did not anticipate having all absentee ballots processed on Election Day due to the labor-intensive process required when tabulating Absentee ballots—adding that the county is committed to ensuring that every vote is counted and will comply with all applicable laws and regulations.