State Election Board: June 10th, 2015 Meeting

Disposition of the Fulton County Consent Orders

In 2013, Secretary of State Brian Kemp began an investigation into alleged misconduct by the Fulton County Board of Elections during the general election and general election runoff of 2008 as well as the primary and general elections of 2012. In 2013, his department’s findings were forwarded to Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens, who pursued the case. [1]

According to the Secretary of State’s report, multiple instances of mismanagement with regards to voter registration and ballot collecting could have invalidated up to ten thousand (10,000) votes. [2]

Following investigation by the State Election Board, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners approved a consent agreement — a contract that would have resolved the dispute between both parties without admission of guilt. The consent order was  rejected by the State Election Board on June 10, 2015 but is detailed below:

Among thirty (30) individual acts of misconduct, in violation of Georgia law, the Fulton County Board of Registrations and Elections acknowledged having:

1. Left DRE (direct-recording electronic) machines–electronic ballot boxes–unlocked and unattended
2. Delayed sending out absentee ballots to voters
3. Failed to place voters in their proper precincts, resulting in these voters casting ballots in the wrong precincts
4. Failed to properly train poll workers in provisional ballot procedures
5. Failed to provide provisional ballots to some voters, having run out of those forms
6. Assigned up to sixty (60) voters to incorrect precincts prior to the 2012 primary election

The Consent Orders Dictated that Fulton County:

1. Cease and desist further violations of the Election Code
2. Pay a civil penalty of one hundred-fifty thousand dollars ($150,000.00) to the State Election Board
3. Reimburse thirty thousand dollars ($30,000.00) to Secretary of State for investigatives costs
4. Maintain of at least eighteen (18) advance voting sites for primary and general elections and twenty-four (24) advance voting sites for primary and general elections in presidential election years
5. Implement an elections management platform system to facilitate administration of voter registration and election activities
6. Implement a required online training system for poll workers

PDF of the Consent Order:

http://media.cmgdigital.com/shared/news/documents/2015/05/04/consent_order.pdf

PDF of June 10th Meeting Agenda

[1] “Attorney General to Investigate Fulton County Voting.” – CBS46 News. Worldnow, 14 Jan. 2014. Web. 29 June 2015. <http://www.cbs46.com/story/24246174/attorney-general-to-investigate-fulton-county-voting>.

[2] Blau, Max. “Georgia AG to Look into Fulton County’s 2012 Election Troubles.” Creative Loafing Atlanta. Foundation, 8 Dec. 2013. Web. 29 June 2015. <http://clatl.com/freshloaf/archives/2013/12/18/georgia-ag-to-look-into-fulton-countys-2012-election-troubles>.