AUGUSTA, Ga. – There was a snag with an important election website right in the middle of voting Tuesday for the Georgia primary.

The Georgia Secretary of State’s MyVoterPage was down for about 45 minutes Tuesday afternoon.

That’s the website where the public can find information about their polling location and download a sample ballot.

Georgia Secretary of State’s Office Chief Operating Officer Gabriel Sterling said the error was due to overprocessing with Salesforce, the software the website runs on.

“It was kind of like when you talk to Comcast and AT&T when something’s going on with your phone,” he said. “They tell you it’ll be five minutes, and you call back in five minutes, and they tell you it’ll be five minutes. Same kind of thing.”

The state is on a path to surpass 1 million ballots cast in the primary, Sterling said.

Going into Tuesday, about 65,000 voters had already cast vote-by-mail absentee ballots, but because of delay issues at Georgia’s U.S. Postal Service locations, officials recommend checking on the Secretary of State’s ballot tracker page to make sure your absentee ballot got to where it needed to go.

That’s the same website that was down for a time on Tuesday.

Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.

AUGUSTA, GA – Keyon Tishaye Dickens, 38, of Augusta, admitted guilt to federal charges after threatening to use explosives against a Social Security Administration office. U.S. Attorney Jill E. Steinberg confirmed that Dickens pled guilty to Using a Telephone to Make a Threat to Injure a Person or Damage a Building by Explosives. He now faces up to 10 years in prison, with no option for parole.

The incident occurred after Dickens received a notice from the Social Security Administration in September 2023, informing him of an intent to recoup overpayments from his Supplemental Security Income. Reacting to the notice, Dickens made a threatening call to the office, declaring intentions to either shoot up or bomb the facility.

Later, he visited the targeted office, presenting a note to a security officer that read “I have a bomb,” while carrying a backpack. This action prompted a lockdown and evacuation of the building, though no bomb was ultimately discovered. Dickens was apprehended by deputies from the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office following the evacuation.

The investigation involved the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney George J.C. Jacobs III is handling the prosecution. Sentencing will be scheduled by U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall after a pre-sentence investigation by U.S. Probation Services.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Augusta Fire Department responded to a fire at Wendy’s on Walton Way on Monday night.

Officials say a firefighter was at a red light and saw smoke coming from Wendy’s. He notified dispatch as he went to assist.

Upon arrival, heavy smoke was visible, according to the fire department.

All employees made it out of the building safely, according to the department.

Officials say the fire happened at 8:38 p.m.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.