Georgia voter living overseas shares mail-in ballot struggles: "I did not know what to do"

A Cobb County voter living in Kenya nearly missed her chance to cast a ballot in the midterms after her absentee ballot application was rejected without a clear explanation. Phyllis Byrd submitted her application on Oct. 16. A day before the Oct. 23 request deadline, she received an email from Cobb County Elections and Registration that it had been rejected."I was so depressed about what was happening because I did not know what to do or where to turn," Byrd said.Byrd said the rejection notice did not clearly explain what went wrong or provide instructions for correcting the application. "The email from the county said they would send me a letter and I should log into my account for more details about the rejection. I logged into the account and didn't find any additional information," she said. According to Cindy Battles, the policy and engagement director for the Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda, Byrd's application encountered several problems during processing. Battles said