Douglas County Board of elections meeting 9/12/2024

Members present: Myesha Good (chair), Chad Word, Kevin Evans, Maurice Hurry 

Director: Milton Kidd

Office operations

M. Kidd staff reported on the following:

• Staff reported on the training schedule for managers, assistant managers, and poll workers. Advanced voting workers will be trained in early October and election day workers will be trained at the end of October.
• Staff reported that L & A testing will start on September 17 and be open to the public.
• A staff person said they had received over 1,800 absentee ballot applications and rejected 29. In answer to a question, she said most of the rejections were from duplicate applications—voters had requested an absentee ballot earlier in the election cycle and did not need to submit another one.
• A staffer said they will have escalation training (dealing with an irate voter, etc.) for precinct workers in October. She and Kidd also said they will meet with law enforcement staff on October 1 to make security arrangements for the election.
• Staff announced they have received State Election Board rules. She said they and other counties have asked for training on the new rules. The SOS will be providing updates next week. 
• A staff person reported that staff had attended a training session provided by the SOS August 25-28. He said further training will be provided. 

He also said they are making progress on the dashboard they are developing with the emergency management agency, which they discussed at the last meeting. It will provide info on wait times by precinct and other precinct info. 

In answer to a question from C. Word, he said precinct maps have been printed will be available at the precincts on election day. 

Old business

Kidd updated the board on the location change for precinct 734. He said letters have been sent to voters about the change and precinct cards are being mailed out. He said there will be signage at both the old and new locations. 

New business

No new business.

Director’s concerns

Kidd said the Georgia Association of Voter Registrars and Election Officials is meeting September 20 to express their concern about the SEB rule making process. Kidd said he and others feel the rules changes have taken place too close to the election, making it difficult to provide training and make the necessary adjustments. He indicated three new SEB members are unfamiliar with the election process. He said that for future elections, GAVREO wants a timeframe for new rules that gives local officials time to implement the changes. He voiced frustration that he often has to contact both SOS and SEB to get guidance on rules. 

Kidd announced that a composite sample ballot has been distributed to county agencies and other organizations. He said the My Voter Page will have the individualized sample ballots up on September 21.