A new Georgia voting law reduced ballot drop box access in places that used them most

Monica Poole looked forward to voting in Georgia's primary in May.

But after breaking her ankle, she couldn't drive. Even navigating the stairs from her second-floor Atlanta apartment was impossible, so waiting in line to vote wasn't an option. Poole applied for a mail-in absentee ballot, like many Georgians have in recent years, and wanted to return it using a drop box.

But the nearest one in Fulton County, where Poole lives, was a 20-minute drive and accessible only during limited hours and days, unlike 2020 when drop boxes were available all across the county and accessible seven days a week around the clock until Election Day.

The new restrictions made the drop boxes difficult to use for Poole, who had limited mobility and a rigid work schedule. So she was forced to mail in her ballot.

But Poole's ballot didn't count, because it didn't arrive at the county's elections office in time.

"To find out I did all that and still didn't get my vote in, I feel discouraged," Poole said. "I'm an African American female, and we weren't able to vote for many years, so I feel like it's my civic duty."

Poole is one of millions of Georgia voters affected by sweeping changes to state election laws enacted by lawmakers last year. The changes include restricting access to drop boxes in counties that used them the most, which also have the highest number of voters of color and Democrats, according to an analysis by NPR, WABE and Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) of drop box locations, voter registration and other data.

NPR, WABE and GPB compiled drop box usage data by reviewing thousands of forms used to document the number of ballots deposited in drop boxes daily across Georgia in 2020 and calculating travel time intervals to