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Voters express alarm after they find Mableton cityhood question missing from some ballots

Cobb County voters expressed concern about the discrepancy seen by some people who would fall within the proposed city borders.

MABLETON, Ga. — Some voters in Cobb County say a major issue they planned to vote on - whether or not Mableton should become a city - was missing from their ballot.

"I was waiting to see that particular question on my ballot and it was not on there," said Nancy Webber. She was just one click away from finalizing her ballot when she realized one of the main issues she wanted to vote on was missing.

A question seen on a sample ballot would determine if Mableton, an unincorporated part of Cobb County, would become a city. If so, it would include parts of unincorporated Smyrna, and unincorporated Austell would become part of it. That's something Webber vehemently opposes.

Credit: Secretary of State

RELATED: Election Day guide | Cobb County candidates, issues on the ballot

"We’re a small community in unincorporated Austell and the fact that they are going to cut down all of these green spaces and build houses people cannot afford to live in," Webb said of her opposition. 

Webber alerted a poll worker to the cityhood issue not being on the ballot and ultimately was able to vote using a provisional ballot. But others did not have the same option…

Webber said, "Some of the seniors I bring with me to vote, one person had it on their ballot and she lives right across the street from me. Other people who I was with did not have it on their ballots and they had to do provisional ballots also."

Cobb County elections officials told 11Alive the area that might become Mableton had been restricted recently, so the boundaries shifted and that caused some confusion about which voters from which addresses should see the ballot question.

They also confirmed at least one street with five homes that should have been incorporated in the Mableton vote was not. Webber believes there are more.

"That worries me because when I got back to my subdivision, for 7 out 10 (residents) it either wasn’t on their ballot and they voted anyway or they just didn’t see it," she said.

Several residents complained about the same thing, as seen in posts on the Nextdoor app Webber shared with 11Alive. The number of people affected hasn't been determined, but elections officials say the problem has been fixed.

"I’m not going to point fingers at anyone, but we have a right to say yes or no in what happens to our community and don’t short-sheet anyone," Webb said. "It’s just not right."

   

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