Whitfield Board of Election meeting 2/9/23

Members present:  Stephen Kelehear (chair), Rob Cowan

Registrar: Shaynee McClure

Old business

1. 5A precinct move—S. McClure reported the American Legion agreed to using their space this year for precinct 5A. They will decide later about making it available after this year. McClure feels they will agree to using it.
2. New voter registration system—McClure said the new system, GARVIS, started on Feb 6 with no serious problems. The state has identified six issues they are working on. Staff will learn more about it at the Georgia elected officials association meeting next week. Responding to a question, she said the new system can customize reports and is faster than the old one.  She noted voters will be able to update their addresses online. 

S. Kelehear said the state is going in the right direction in meeting the objective of getting more people to vote. 

Discussion

Kelehear asked if anyone present had questions or comments. One audience member had several questions. First, he asked why signature verification was not done for mail-in ballots. Staff responded that changes in the law dropped that requirement. Kelehear added that because the staff weren’t professional examiners, verifying signatures was a fruitless exercise. 

The next question dealt with maintaining accurate voter addresses. McClure and staff said that the states exchange information on voters moving in and out of state. McClure noted that if voters go eight years without voting, they are notified they are being put into inactive status. If they don’t respond to the notice, they will be removed after two years. She also said addresses are updated based on postal service information. 

On this last point, one staffer said she identified several voters before the general election whose residence was a business or UPS mailing address. She wanted to put a “challenge” on them, but the then-registrar overruled her. McClure and Kelehear said they were unaware of this issue and will look into it. 

When the audience member referred to dead people staying the rolls, Kelehear said a statewide investigation was done several years ago. They found fewer than 10 deceased voters registered (he thought it might have been as few as 2). He said it’s an overblown issue.

Whitfield BOE

Members present:  Stephen Kelehear (chair), Rob Cowan

Registrar: Shaynee McClure

Old business

1. 5A precinct move—S. McClure reported the American Legion agreed to using their space this year for precinct 5A. They will decide later about making it available after this year. McClure feels they will agree to using it.
2. New voter registration system—McClure said the new system, GARVIS, started on Feb 6 with no serious problems. The state has identified six issues they are working on. Staff will learn more about it at the Georgia elected officials association meeting next week. Responding to a question, she said the new system can customize reports and is faster than the old one.  She noted voters will be able to update their addresses online. 

S. Kelehear said the state is going in the right direction in meeting the objective of getting more people to vote. 

Discussion

Kelehear asked if anyone present had questions or comments. One audience member had several questions. First, he asked why signature verification was not done for mail-in ballots. Staff responded that changes in the law dropped that requirement. Kelehear added that because the staff weren’t professional examiners, verifying signatures was a fruitless exercise. 

The next question dealt with maintaining accurate voter addresses. McClure and staff said that the states exchange information on voters moving in and out of state. McClure noted that if voters go eight years without voting, they are notified they are being put into inactive status. If they don’t respond to the notice, they will be removed after two years. She also said addresses are updated based on postal service information. 

On this last point, one staffer said she identified several voters before the general election whose residence was a business or UPS mailing address. She wanted to put a “challenge” on them, but the then-registrar overruled her. McClure and Kelehear said they were unaware of this issue and will look into it. 

When the audience member referred to dead people staying the rolls, Kelehear said a statewide investigation was done several years ago. They found fewer than 10 deceased voters registered (he thought it might have been as few as 2). He said it’s an overblown issue.

2/9/23

Whitfield BOE

Members present:  Stephen Kelehear (chair), Rob Cowan

Registrar: Shaynee McClure

Old business

1. 5A precinct move—S. McClure reported the American Legion agreed to using their space this year for precinct 5A. They will decide later about making it available after this year. McClure feels they will agree to using it.
2. New voter registration system—McClure said the new system, GARVIS, started on Feb 6 with no serious problems. The state has identified six issues they are working on. Staff will learn more about it at the Georgia elected officials association meeting next week. Responding to a question, she said the new system can customize reports and is faster than the old one.  She noted voters will be able to update their addresses online. 

S. Kelehear said the state is going in the right direction in meeting the objective of getting more people to vote. 

Discussion

Kelehear asked if anyone present had questions or comments. One audience member had several questions. First, he asked why signature verification was not done for mail-in ballots. Staff responded that changes in the law dropped that requirement. Kelehear added that because the staff weren’t professional examiners, verifying signatures was a fruitless exercise. 

The next question dealt with maintaining accurate voter addresses. McClure and staff said that the states exchange information on voters moving in and out of state. McClure noted that if voters go eight years without voting, they are notified they are being put into inactive status. If they don’t respond to the notice, they will be removed after two years. She also said addresses are updated based on postal service information. 

On this last point, one staffer said she identified several voters before the general election whose residence was a business or UPS mailing address. She wanted to put a “challenge” on them, but the then-registrar overruled her. McClure and Kelehear said they were unaware of this issue and will look into it. 

When the audience member referred to dead people staying the rolls, Kelehear said a statewide investigation was done several years ago. They found fewer than 10 deceased voters registered (he thought it might have been as few as 2). He said it’s an overblown issue.