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Douglas Plans Rides to Polls in 5-14-2020 Meeting

Douglas County Board of Elections meeting 5-14-20 county building
Douglas County Board of Elections and Registration meeting 5-14-2020

Douglas County Board of Elections and Registration Held a Board Meeting on 5-14-2020

 
Meeting Highlights from 5-14-2020
New polling location at Woodie Fite Senior Center.
There are 6 early voting locations and 25 locations on Election Day.
If a voter plants to vote early early, they can schedule a ride to the poll in Douglas County.

 
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Notes from Douglas County Board of Elections and Registration Meeting 5-14-2020
Notes from this meeting were taken by an attendee. For more information, contact Douglas BOER at 770-920-7213.
Meeting Start Time: 5:00 p.m.
Meeting End Time: 5:32 p.m.

Members Present:
District 1 Commissioner Henry Mitchell, III
Lisa Martin
Milton Kidd

This meeting was not a traditional Board of Elections Meeting. However this was a 30 minute informational video called “District Dialogue” in which members of the board of elections gave very important info about voting in this election and changes in the county.

Milton Kidd states that there is a new polling place in Douglas County called the “Woodie Fite Senior Center” located at 1000 Simeon Springer Ct, 8750 Dorris Rd, Douglasville, GA 30134.
Milton says there are six early voting locations, there are 25 election day polling locations in the county.
Lisa Martin adds that the day of the election each board member will visit each polling location.

Mr. Kidd announces that the state of Georgia has a new voting process this year.

Old process
-Machines Called DRE (Direct record electronics) were used to mark ballots.
-Each voter enters an access card into the machine, makes their choices, and is given an option to print a ballot or fill it out electronically.

Mr. Kidd says the new voting process allows for a digital component along with a verifiable paper trail.
With the new system the machines will automatically print the ballot.
Lisa Martin says that one person prints out the ballot they have as much time as they need to review the choices they made.
She says if you only print out the ballot, you have not officially voted yet, to have your vote counted it has to be scanned.
Mr. Kidd: There is no direct line to the internet for the voting process so no hacking can be done.
If there is a runoff election the county reviews the paper printed ballots.

Early voting for the Presidential Preference Primary will take place at:
-Douglas County Courthouse – 8700 Hospital Drive Douglasville, Georgia 30134
-Woodie Fite center – 1000 Simeon Springer Ct, 8750 Dorris Rd, Douglasville, GA 30134
-Dog River Library – 6100 Georgia Highway 5 Douglasville, Georgia 30135
-Boundary Waters Aquatic Center – 5000 Georgia Highway 92/166 (Fairburn –Road/Boundary Waters Parkway) Douglasville, Georgia 30135
-Old Douglas County Courthouse – 6754 West Church Street Douglasville, Georgia 30134
-Deer Lick Park (gymnasium) – 2105 Mack Road Douglasville, Georgia 30135

Mr. Kidd informs us that Douglas county has 417 voting machines.
He also says anyone who cannot make it to the polls can request an absentee ballot on Douglas county website.

Elderly and disabled workers can request an absentee ballot for the entire election season. They do not have to put in a 2nd request for this year.

The County has ordered more polling units and is in the process of hiring more workers to help make the voting process easy and safe.
Douglas county also has the option for people participating in early voting to schedule a ride to the polls by calling.

Milton Kidd says that Douglas county also wants to bridge the gap between future voters and experienced voters.
To make this happen poll workers of 16 years of age can go to the counselors office in each of the 5 high schools in the county and apply for the Student Ambassador program.

Lisa Martin says the county lost a polling location due to Covid-19 closures but found an adequate replacement.

Milton Kidd says House Bill 316 which just passed in the last session of the state legislative extends the time a person will stay on the voter rolls if he or she is inactive.

He says if a voter has not informed the county of change of residence, participated in county, state, or federal elections for at least 10 years, or simply hasn’t informed the county of lack of participation, the county will mail the voter a confirmation notice.

The confirmation notice asks the voter if they plan on participation in the next election. It has a 40 day time limit, and if the voter doesn’t respond to the notice they will be moved to inactive status.

They can remain on inactive status for 8 years, to get on inactive status the voter just has to update their voter registration.

For closing remarks Lisa Martin tells the public that if you’re told your name can’t be found or any other inconvenience when you go vote call the poll manager which will call the front office. She urges voters to not leave.

Milton Kidd says be on the lookout for educational videos and PSA’s explaining the whole voting process in the county.
Meeting Adjourned

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