Douglas County Board of Elections meeting 4/13/23

Members present: Myesha Good (chair), Maurice Hurry (vice-chair), Michele Crochetiere, Kevin Evans, Chad Word 

Director: Milton Kidd

Office operations

Staff and a guest made the following announcements:

• Since the last meeting, the office held a town hall meeting for citizens to update voters on election changes and other matters. A state representative participated in the meeting.
• Janet Swift, representing a sorority, reported they are working with the staff to go to four high schools, this spring and next fall, to register voters and hold mock elections. 
• A staff member reported they will have a voter registration drive at the local Juneteenth Celebration.
• A staffer reported they will participate in an elementary school career day, covering election and registration activities.
• A staff person said they will host a training on EPULSE, an administrative system all counties must use. 
• M. Kidd reported they will return to in-person board meetings in May.

Old business

• A staff person reported the state will be making arrangements to update the software for their operating system. They do not have a date yet.
• Kidd said they prepared a policy for voter registration challenges and for candidate qualifying challenges. A copy was sent to the board. Kidd asked for approval. The board unanimously approved it.

New business

Kidd reported the county commissioners will be taking up their request for new space at a work session on April 17 and their meeting on April 18. They are asking to consolidate the four current sites into one site outside of the courthouse. 

Board concerns

C. Word asked for a detailed description of the felon process. Kidd went through the steps: the Secretary of State notifies the county of convicted felons on the voter rolls; the county notifies the individuals on the list, giving them 30 days to respond; if they don’t respond they are removed from the rolls; if they show they have completed their restitution, they can submit an application for registration. Kidd also said they can appeal the staff decision if they have completed their restitution or they were misidentified. These cases are settled in a hearing before the board. 

These meetings are open to the public by Georgia law.  

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