1. Declaration of a Quorum Present
2. BOE members present: Jack Noa, David Kennedy, Johnny Varner, Ken Cochran, Gala Sheats; BOE. A gentleman named Ben was on the phone. Member Johnny Varner was absent.
3. Pledge to Flag
4. Adoption of Agenda – adopted
5. Approve of minutes from July 16, 2024 – approved
6. Public Comments specific to Agenda items
a. Jan Harnett – Concerned about the delay and new costs of voter rolls – Increased costs of voter rolls for district, state, county. Supposed to get within a week but is taking weeks. Some other states don’t charge any money. Makes it difficult for voter challenges. . ($250 to $485 for state rolls)
i. Lori Wurtz’s Response- First time the Director Lori Wurtz has heard of this. Now the local county has been removed from the process. Formerly the county election staff was the “middle man.” It’s a Secretary of State issue. But Hall Co. Director will reach out with their liaison and will get back with Jan Harnett and the BOE next month. When the country request a list they go through the same process to get voter rolls.
b. Richard ______ (last name not provided) is a citizen concerned about voting machines that are vulnerable and impractical. He said there are tens of thousands voting violations that would have elected Trump. We need to include paper ballots. He’s a poll worker. Would like to have matching signature lines like we used to have, not electronic signatures that often don’t resemble one’s signature. Wants honest elections. (He attended State BOE meeting and found it interesting.)
i. Chairman responded. This is a Secretary of State’s office decision and this issue has not be resolved, hopefully will be by the end of the month.
7. Directors Update
a. Several staff members will be attending a 4-day training in Aug. in Forsyth, GA. It’s her desire/belief and important for the Hall Co. BOE to have a comprehensive reconciliation/certification package prior to certifying elections. …. Would include Reconciliation paperwork, everything we have available for a clean election.
b. State BOE did advance some new proposed rules. She encourages all to tune into the BOE meetings when these proposed rules are being considered. Hall Co. will comply with any rules that get passed. If they don’t pass, we would do it in Hall Co. anyway because she believes it is needed. (The 10-12 people in audience applauded.) It will reassure you (BOE) that you have all the documents needed to certify, not just a discussion.
c. Several rules in the rule making process. Next meeting Aug. 19 at 9:00 am. Tune in if you can to view the rule making process. Some of the people in the audience today attend those meetings so you’ll see some familiar faces. These meetings are live stream and are recorded. There is one rule about the certification package to be advanced. They voted to allow it to proceed through the rule making process. Sparked a lot of interest in our department here in Hall Co. She stated that we want to do the right thing all the time. The Elections Dept. will be available to give anything you need.
d. BOE Chairman said the state BOE had a meeting that they shouldn’t have had and that has slowed the process. Director said this was old news now. He asked Director to keep the BOE informed. We will give you options for the complete package you need. Hall Co. was mentioned at the State BOE meeting and Lori Wurtz was mentioned by name.
e. Kay Wimpye, Registration Coordinator- numbers to report:
i. 151287 registered, eligible voters
f. Sandy, a staff member – Poll worker drive all week long- advertised in newspaper and TV, the portal, sign in lobby, and phone calls/emails answered i. Interviewed 30 people, 28 today, more to come
ii. Hired 8 more. Close to 80 poll workers interviewed.
iii. We’re still taking interested people. Tell your friends and neighbors.
iv. Would like to keep 500-600 poll workers on our rolls. Will probably hire 150 more. Can hire students if 16 or older. Not everyone works every election.
Lots of roles are needed.
v. Have a call center.
g. Paige Thompson, Elections Manager – Introduce poll workers in attendance. 4 in attendance. Thank you for your participation. One was an area manager. Applause. i. BOE chairman asked if there is enough equipment and space for this
election. She said they are good for this year. More may be needed in the
future.
8. Business – Consider and discuss the adoption of a Policy regarding Hall Co. Voter Challenge Procedures.
a. Legal department – Ben who was on the phone responded. Have reviewed them. Based on provision Code. They look pretty good. Review has not been completed. Voted to move this agenda item to next meeting.
• Public Comments for items NOT on the agenda.
o No one presented comments.
Sept. 10, 2024 is next meeting- voted to confirm; no need for Executive Session.
Adjourned at 6:26 pm.
Be First to Comment