NYT:

Before Georgia’s embattled election officials can fix a voting system that suffered a spectacular collapse, leading to absentee ballots that never got delivered and hourslong waits at polling sites on Tuesday, they must first figure out who is responsible.

As multiple investigations begin into what went wrong, and as Democrats accuse the state’s Republicans of voter suppression, a picture emerged Wednesday of a systematic breakdown that both revealed general incompetence and highlighted some of the thorny and specific challenges that the coronavirus pandemic may pose to elections officials nationwide.

As it seeks answers, Georgia is being roiled by a politically volatile debate over whether the problems were the result of mere bungling, or an intentional effort by Republican officials to inhibit voting.

Brad Raffensperger, the Republican secretary of state, placed the blame on greater Atlanta’s liberal-leaning counties of Fulton and DeKalb, arguing that local officials had botched the rollout of the state’s new $107 million electronic voting system.

But Democrats, who blame Mr. Raffensperger, saw more nefarious forces at play, noting that many of the longest lines plagued predominantly black neighborhoods in and around Atlanta while rural white counties experienced relatively fewer problems.

While Tuesday’s contests were relatively low-stakes primaries, Georgia is expected to be a presidential battleground in November, as well as the site of two contested Senate races that could determine control of the chamber.