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MORE VOTERS AT THE POLLS? Voter registration data shows that protests this summer may translate into more voters.
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Harris joins Biden ticket, making political history BY DAVID CATANESE
[email protected] WASHINGTON
Joe Biden selected Kamala Harris as his running mate on Tuesday, positioning his former Democratic primary rival as the first Black woman to appear on a major party’s presidential ticket. The California senator was chosen after a months-long process that for the first time in history included only a field of women. The 55-year-old Harris
was long considered by Democrats as the front-runner to be Biden’s No. 2 due to her ideological similarities to the former vice president, the diversity she brings to the ticket, and her experience running a national campaign. The announcement came in a text message to supporters Tuesday. Many Democrats see Biden’s decision to pick Harris as a nod to the political adage that a running mate should first, and above all, do no harm. That’s especially true when running
ahead, as polls show Biden with a formidable lead over President Donald Trump with less than three months to go before the general election. But it is also a historic selection. Only two women have ever been running mates on a major party presidential ticket: Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 and Sarah Palin in 2008. With a political biography that includes three and a half years in the U.S. Senate and five years previously as California’s attorney general, Biden concluded that Harris has the
necessary experience to help him govern and ascend to the role of commander-in-chief, if need be. As a candidate who ran against him for the Democratic nomination, Harris was the only woman of color who had undergone sustained scrutiny through a national campaign. “There’s no question that people who’ve been through it before, to use a baseball analogy, they’re able to hit the fastball right out of the gate more easily than somebody who might not be used to that
Voting extended at 2 locations during mayoral runoff BY JOE KOVAC AND JENNA EASON
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After a long search for a vice presidential running mate that for the first time in history included only women, Joe Biden on Tuesday announced that he has chosen Sen. Kamala Harris, a Democrat from California.
speed of pitching,” said David Plouffe, who managed Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, in an SEE HARRIS, 8A
Online absentee ballot applications approved
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Editor’s note: Election results were not available by the Telegraph’s print deadline. For live election results, visit macon.com. The Macon-Bibb County Board of Elections decided Tuesday morning to keep two polling precincts open for an extra 30 minutes after some technical difficulties. Mike Kaplan, chair of the Macon-Bibb County Board of Elections, said the polling locations at Appling Middle School and St. Francis Episcopal Church remained open until 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. “We had troubles with our poll pads and were not able to get completely open by seven o’clock, and so we made the decision to extend the voting another 30 minutes,” Kaplan said. “We were open but had some technical difficulties in those two locations, and I felt it best to extend voting about 30 minutes because that’s about what we were delayed.” The poll pads were having trouble recognizing voting cards, Kaplan said, but he said he is not concerned that people did not vote due to the delay. One Macon voter said a snafu at her polling place, Appling Middle School on Shurling Drive on the city’s northeast side, turned some people away Tuesday morning. Kara Garrett said she began waiting in line shortly after 7 a.m. and that she waited half an hour or so to try and cast her ballot. But when she did she said her voting card didn’t work in the machine, and that a dozen or so other people she saw had similar issues with the machines showing “invalid card” errors.
TOM WILLIAMS AP
BY MARK NIESSE
Cox Newspapers ATLANTA
PHOTOS BY JASON VORHEES
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Macon-Bibb mayoral candidate Lester Miller campaigns Tuesday outside of Northway Church on Zebulon Road. For live election results, visit macon.com.
Macon-Bibb mayoral candidate Cliffard Whitby campaigns Tuesday outside his home on Hardeman Avenue. Election results weren’t available by print deadline.
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Georgia voters will soon be able to go online to order an absentee ballot for the November presidential election, according to a rule the State Election Board approved Monday. The board voted unanimously to create the absentee ballot application website, which is planned to go live by the end of this month. The website will help voters participate in this year’s presidential election without having to visit a polling place during the coronavirus pandemic. Voting from home became popular in Georgia’s primary, when nearly half of voters cast absentee ballots. The trend continued in advance of Tuesday’s runoffs, with 60 percent of early voters submitting absentee ballots through Sunday. “We need to get this out there, get this system online and go live so that the voters of Georgia can access it,” State Election Board member Anh Le said. The online absentee ballot application process will avoid some of the problems seen during Georgia’s primary, when some voters who emailed absentee ballot request forms never received their ballots. Through the website, election officials are less likely to overlook paper or email applications. Georgia law has allowed any voter to request an absentee ballot since 2005, but before this year, that method of voting was generally used by only about 5 percent of voters in each election. Secretary of State Brad RafSEE BALLOT, 8A
