Voters kept off register in key US mid-term elections

Voting irregularities have been found that could change the results of the crucial US mid-term elections in key states.

The removal of African-American voters from the register in Georgia could deny Democrat Stacey Abrams becoming the first black woman governor. Picture: AFP

Voting irregularities have been found that could change the ­results of the crucial US mid-term elections in key states.

In Texas and Georgia, two states with closely contested races for senator and governor, residents have reported ballot machines switching their choices as they try to cast votes.

The problem in Georgia comes amid accusations of the removal of African-American voters from the register that could prevent Democrat Stacey Abrams becoming the first black woman governor in US history. In addition, it is claimed that some registrations have not been processed. Complicating the contest is that Ms Abrams’s opponent, Brian Kemp, a Trump-backed Republican, is the Georgia secretary of state, whose office oversees elections.

Mr Kemp’s office has rejected a complaint by the National ­Asso­ciation for the Advancement of Coloured People that voting machines in two counties are switching choices from Democrat to Republican.

Donald Trump is desperate to keep Republicans in office after the November 6 poll, which is being viewed as a referendum on his administration. He is at risk of losing the House of Representatives, which could affect possible impeachment proceedings. Losses in the ­Senate would also be damaging for him.

Votes for Ms Abrams were changed to ballots for Mr Kemp in Cobb and Bartow counties, the NAACP said. The group rebuked Mr Kemp after his office said the claims could not be confirmed or were the result of ­voters’ errors.

Gerald Griggs, the Georgia NAACP vice-president, said: “To write it off as voter error is to just sweep under the rug the real problem with the machines.”

It was unclear how many ballots had been changed, and some voters were able to catch the error and notify officials. However, according to studies of voter behaviour, most do not check their selections before casting votes.

Mr Kemp is facing allegations of improperly removing as many as 340,000 Georgians from rolls since coming into office in 2010. He is facing a lawsuit over the purge, in which his office claimed residents had moved out of the state. The deletions disproportionately affect minority voters, the lawsuit ­alleges.

A quarter of residents in Cobb are black and Hillary Clinton won the county, one of the most populous in Georgia, by more than 21,000 votes in 2016 despite losing the state. A separate lawsuit alleges that the secretary of state’s office has failed to process 53,000 new voter registrations, 70 per cent from black voters, mostly from urban counties who tend to vote Democrat.

In Texas voters have reported errors on ballots cast for Democrats and Republicans. Machines are failing to register votes cast for Ted Cruz, the Republican incumbent facing a strong challenge from Beto O’Rourke, a Democrat, for his Senate seat. Ballots for Mr O’Rourke are being switched to votes for Senator Cruz. State election officials said the errors were the result of dated voting machines and not caused by hacking or outside ­interference.

The Times