Tag: DeKalb Board of Elections

We need to talk about the DeKalb Board of Elections

By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman The DeKalb Board of Elections has more than its share of problems and several voting rights activists and grassroots volunteers spoke out about those issues and suppport for an ongoing audit at today’s DeKalb Board of Commissioners meeting. Liz Throop, Betsy Schwalbach, and others outlined many of the problems DeKalb voters faced last November: long lines, inadequate facilities for early voting, and problems with absentee ballots highlighted their list of concerns. This included 4,700 missing absentee ballots in DeKalb that remain a matter of dispute and investigation (supposedly) by the Secretary of State’s office. As a result of this and other issues, thousands of DeKalb Citizens were unable to vote in the general election. Worth noting: DeKalb had…

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DeKalb Commission moves ahead with Board of Elections audit

Above: Line for early voting at Tucker Library, Oct. 27, 2019 Jonathan Grant @Brambleman DeKalb’s Board of Registrations and Elections is in drastic need of an upgrade–increased staffing and technological improvements, obviously. It has operational and leadership issues as well, as people who deal with the Board can attest. And did. Eight DeKalb residents showed up today to speak in favor of an audit and election reform. One of today’s speakers, Whitney McGinniss, made the news last fall over her absentee ballot issues in DeKalb and provided a brief recount today. As a regular Board observer, I had a few things to say, as well (see below). The audit proposal for the Board, moved forward by DeKalb County Commissioners Larry Johnson and Mereda…

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A meeting in Tweets: DeKalb GA Board of Elections OCT 11 2018

Early Voting starts October 15. Check out the schedule below. Coverage of a meeting where nothing much happened, but some interesting facts were stated. I just gotta say: the DeKalb Board of Elections has transparency issues. Skittish about sharing info, a board member showed me a document, but would not let John Askins take a photo of it, even though the paper had been distributed to members and discussed IN AN OPEN MEETING. Jeebus. Note: Last month, @DeKalbVotes reported 40,000 voter registration applications pending and is receiving absentee ballot requests at the rate of about 500 a day. Big Number: @DeKalbVotes docs show 158K voter registration applications in 2018 through Sept. That month, DeKalb received >20K apps thru Secretary of State and almost 7K thru…

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Major Georgia voting snafu has robbed 100s of votes from Rep. Scott Holcomb for years

Jonathan Grant @Brambleman Going back at least to 2012, a major error by the DeKalb County Board of Elections has put nearly 700 voters who should be in Democratic Rep. Scott Holcomb’s House District 81 in (up until recently) safe Republican House District 79. Bear in mind, Doraville North is a reliably blue precinct, giving Democratic candidates hefty majorities. Jon Ossoff took Doraville North last year with 75 percent of the vote. These voters would have increased Holcomb’s victory margin in 2016 by about 200, and they are even more crucial in a mid-term election, when turnout is typically lower. Here’s what happened: A portion of Doraville North extends east past Buford Highway around Oakcliff Road near the Gwinnett County line; Buford Highway…

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