[0:00] Let's go this way.

[0:30] Good evening everyone. Seeing as it is

[0:33] 5:00 p.m. I can go ahead and call the

[0:35] meeting to order. Uh first item on the

[0:37] agenda is of course the pledge of

[0:38] allegiance. So if everyone would please

[0:40] rise and refer to the flag

[0:48] of the United States of America to the

[0:52] standy.

[1:02] Thank you.

[1:04] Next item on the agenda is the approval

[1:06] of the agenda itself. And I would accept

[1:08] a motion.

[1:09] » Mr. Chair, I make a motion that we

[1:11] accept the agenda as written.

[1:13] » A motion has been made. I'll go ahead

[1:15] and second that motion. Motion and

[1:16] second been given. Um I'll go ahead and

[1:19] call if there's no discussion. All in

[1:22] favor signify by saying I.

[1:23] » I. Motion carries unanimously.

[1:26] Um seeing uh as it is the February uh

[1:30] meeting of our even numbered years, our

[1:33] bylaws as they currently stand um

[1:36] require uh the board to conduct

[1:38] elections of our board officers and so

[1:40] um so at this time um I guess we could

[1:44] accept motions.

[1:47] Uh Mr. Chair, I make a motion that uh

[1:50] our chair

[1:53] motion has been made. I'll go ahead and

[1:55] second that. Um

[1:59] any discussion?

[2:01] Yeah. Um seeing no further discussion,

[2:04] all in favor signify by saying I.

[2:06] » I.

[2:08] Thank you very much.

[2:12] And next item of course the vice chair

[2:14] position. Um I would go ahead and take

[2:17] uh my privilege and right as chairman to

[2:20] make a motion to appoint uh my colleague

[2:22] member Alexander as vice chair.

[2:26] motion and second been made. Uh seeing

[2:29] no uh further discussion.

[2:33] Yep. No one on my left over here. Um I

[2:36] guess we can go ahead and call the vote.

[2:37] All in favor signify by saying I.

[2:39] » I.

[2:44] I said it before we started the meeting,

[2:45] but sometimes it feels like bush casting

[2:47] a sundance kit up here.

[2:50] Next item on the agenda is of course our

[2:52] public comments. will be given a five

[2:55] minute. Excuse me. Director Garrett

[2:57] seems to be grabbing my attention.

[2:58] » Yes, if we could have a couple of

[3:00] minutes. We're having technical

[3:02] difficulties and since we do our public

[3:04] comments verbatim with the recording,

[3:06] can we have a couple of seconds to

[3:08] figure that out, please?

[3:09] » Sure. Absolutely. Yeah. Thank you for

[3:10] that flag. Um, I'll say, you know, as

[3:15] technology becomes almost indispensable

[3:17] to us all the time, it's wonderful when

[3:20] it works. Um, so just bear with us on

[3:23] this one. Um, I'll tell you actually as

[3:24] far as technological updates go, we do

[3:26] have, uh, one small update I wanted to

[3:28] publicize further. Um, the, uh, FE

[3:31] county government has updated its

[3:33] website. Should be a lot more user

[3:34] friendly now. Um, much more approachable

[3:37] and accessible to get through

[3:38] everything. Of course, we will be listed

[3:40] as one of the departments there on the

[3:42] website itself. So, if you ever want to

[3:43] reach uh, the election department, board

[3:45] of elections here, all our information

[3:46] is on the faccounta.gov

[3:49] website uh, under elections. Um, we've

[3:52] got our public notices there and in fact

[3:53] we will actually uh be discussing one of

[3:56] those public notices a little bit later

[3:57] in this meeting as far as a polling

[4:00] location proposal. Um, but just wanted

[4:03] to again echo that that uh website has

[4:07] been updated. It should be more

[4:08] approachable and thank you to Kyle, our

[4:10] clerk here who does a lot of work on our

[4:12] website. Make sure all our eyes are

[4:14] dotted and our tees are crossed. But as

[4:16] far as that, I guess that could conclude

[4:18] most of my filler at this moment.

[4:24] Great turnout. Thank you.

[4:27] » Absolutely. You know, typically we

[4:28] probably have no more than five folks

[4:30] come out to our meetings. Um you know,

[4:32] it's we're always thankful to have these

[4:35] larger turnouts because we do want to be

[4:37] as responsive to the public as possible.

[4:39] You know, while we do have our uh email

[4:42] addresses, our phone numbers up there on

[4:43] the website, at the end of the day,

[4:44] being face to face is a lot better. I

[4:46] know that firsthand. I was in school for

[4:48] a lot of co um so I I saw that we lost a

[4:50] lot of the you know relations and our

[4:52] success so in those so thank you for all

[4:55] coming out and uh we can look forward to

[4:57] you know using our technology and

[4:58] everybody having their voice heard

[5:00] during our public comment period but our

[5:02] responsiveness is really our strength so

[5:04] please we can't be responsive if you

[5:05] don't request

[5:10] » We're just going to take a risk it says

[5:12] it's recording is just not streaming um

[5:14] Jenny's still working on it We will I

[5:17] will try to record on my phone so at

[5:19] least we'll have our minutes so we can

[5:22] move forward with the meeting.

[5:25] » With that we can go ahead and proceed to

[5:27] public comments. Um speakers will be

[5:29] given a fivem minute maximum time limit

[5:31] to speak before the board of elections

[5:33] about various topics, issues and

[5:34] concerns. Speakers must direct comments

[5:36] to the board and responses are reserved

[5:38] at the direction of the board. Um I

[5:40] guess just another clarification, we

[5:42] will have this meeting recorded. It will

[5:43] be on the county's Vimeo page. We might

[5:45] just the streaming capability right now,

[5:47] but I guess that's a huge benefit of

[5:49] having a lot of folks in the audience

[5:50] here that we do have the public here

[5:53] present as well. Um, so with that, I

[5:55] could go ahead and welcome anyone up to

[5:56] the podium. Um, please state your name,

[5:58] uh, your county residency and, uh, begin

[6:01] your public comments.

[6:14] Good evening. My name is Marilyn Napton

[6:17] and I live at 705 Grand Teton Circle

[6:20] here in Fagville.

[6:22] And um my question is what is the plan

[6:25] for the um ballot drop off boxes for F

[6:30] County

[6:31] for this coming election?

[6:40] » Ma'am, the public comment period will be

[6:42] uh responses are reserved at our

[6:43] direction. So feel free to all your

[6:45] comments and then if we see fit, we

[6:47] could respond to anything that you bring

[6:48] up.

[7:04] » My only comments are expansion of of

[7:08] hours for voting.

[7:11] I just think we should have done this

[7:13] years ago.

[7:14] » You quickly state your name in your

[7:15] county res.

[7:16] » Oh, yeah. Yeah.

[7:18] Zach knows me, but the others probably

[7:21] don't. I'm Jack Bernard. I'm a resident

[7:23] of Peach Tree City and I've been a

[7:25] resident for 11 years.

[7:28] I'm also,

[7:30] frankly, I've been in both parties and

[7:33] held elected office.

[7:36] as a county commissioner, another county

[7:38] for a couple terms.

[7:42] What what disturbs me

[7:45] in terms of

[7:47] the trend in our country is the trend to

[7:54] lessen participation

[7:57] in voting

[7:59] and that lessens participation in our

[8:02] government. It lessens support for our

[8:04] government and That's especially true.

[8:08] I'll just be very blunt. It's especially

[8:09] true with some people now trying to

[8:13] lessen the participation of uh

[8:16] minorities, of the elderly, of the

[8:19] infirm and so on. What whatever we can

[8:23] do to increase participation, we should

[8:26] do. Uh I was very disappointed with your

[8:30] predecessors the last time I did this

[8:33] years ago. uh they really weren't open

[8:37] to opening uh voting on Sundays for

[8:41] instance, which that's a natural to me.

[8:45] Why not vote on Sundays? Uh but anything

[8:48] we can do to increase voter

[8:50] participation, we should be doing.

[8:52] Anything we can do to make our elections

[8:56] uh continue to be fair and equitable, we

[8:59] should be doing, including uh coming up

[9:03] with vote tally as possible and issuing

[9:06] that publicly

[9:08] totally for that.

[9:10] We should be doing things in a

[9:12] bipartisan manner. Both parties and I've

[9:15] been in both parties and both parties

[9:17] should agree on we need to have free and

[9:20] fair elections and once the election is

[9:22] done we should all accept the

[9:24] consequences positive or negative of

[9:27] those elections. That's about it. Thank

[9:30] you.

[9:37] Thank you.

[9:38] » Good evening. Uh, my name is Anna

[9:40] Richards. I live at 290 Virginia

[9:42] Highlands here in Fville and I'm a new

[9:45] resident to Georgia coming from North

[9:48] Carolina this summer where I was an

[9:51] elected official. I was a county

[9:53] commissioner there. Um, so I'm

[9:55] interested obviously in

[9:58] my government, my politics, my

[10:00] community, and um, in understanding

[10:04] Fet County, which I'm just tipping my

[10:06] toe in. Um, first thing I understand is

[10:10] that you're considering whether or not

[10:11] to certify

[10:14] uh, on Friday or Monday. Monday, I

[10:17] think, is the statutory requirement.

[10:20] And so I'm hoping that you would go for

[10:21] Friday so that something

[10:26] unplanned happens or you need to do

[10:29] anything, you would not be pushed up

[10:31] against the statutory deadline of

[10:34] Monday. And so I would urge you to

[10:38] certify at the earliest possible date so

[10:41] that um we can make sure that every

[10:45] vote is counted and that everyone gets

[10:48] an opportunity to have their voice.

[10:50] That's the first point. Secondly, um I

[10:55] heard other gentlemen talk about Sunday

[10:57] voting. It's my understanding that we

[10:58] current that there currently is Sunday

[11:00] voting and the consideration is whether

[11:03] or not to continue that. And I'm just

[11:05] urging you again, our objective should

[11:08] be participation. It was it's always

[11:11] amazing to me when we hear about other

[11:13] countries and how they get 80 90% of

[11:16] their population to vote. And we

[11:19] struggle in this country to get um even

[11:24] half our vote registered voters to vote.

[11:26] And a lot of people work shifts um and

[11:30] you know I don't know what your family

[11:32] background is but um you know initially

[11:35] my ancestors were not allowed to vote.

[11:37] Women weren't allowed to vote and unless

[11:39] you were a a land owner here in America

[11:43] you weren't able to vote either. So over

[11:47] the course of history, we have expanded

[11:49] as we should to create this more perfect

[11:51] union and this democracy. And I would

[11:53] just hope that in Faget County where I

[11:56] now live that our goal is to increase

[12:00] the opportunity to vote and that that

[12:02] would include Sunday voting and expanded

[12:06] hours. I don't know if that's something

[12:07] you're considering, but I think we

[12:10] should be trying to find ways to include

[12:12] as opposed to exclude voters. So, thank

[12:16] you very much.

[12:19] » Thank you. Welcome to FE County. Glad to

[12:21] have

[12:26] » Marilyn Napton again. Um, I was thinking

[12:29] there might be a back and forth with my

[12:31] uh concern about the uh Dropbox, but I

[12:34] just wanted to I feel it's a very

[12:37] important part of the voting process. I

[12:40] know the last two elections.

[12:43] The dropbox was put in the

[12:47] um

[12:49] office and only available during office

[12:53] hours, which to me didn't make much

[12:55] sense. But um we do have several people

[12:58] in our county that work multiple jobs

[13:03] are not available during hours or

[13:06] possibly Saturday or Sunday or whatever.

[13:10] Um we might have the um early voting and

[13:14] I just feel it's really important that

[13:17] we have a drop box available for those

[13:19] absentee ballots. Thank you.

[13:24] » Thank you.

[13:30] Any additional public comments?

[13:39] One more.

[13:42] Please state your name, your county

[13:44] reser.

[13:46] » Hey, I'm Justin Owens. I'm in Beachree

[13:50] City.

[13:52] And I guess uh I had a question that you

[13:55] could address

[13:57] all the comments. Um is there like

[14:02] can do as a county like um to expand

[14:07] access to absentee ballots or is that

[14:10] tied up in the state? Thank you.

[14:25] » Okay, thank you all. Um just I'm going

[14:28] to tackle a few things that were brought

[14:29] up. Um, as far as uh ballot boxes, um,

[14:35] apologies for the confusion as far as

[14:36] how this goes a little bit, you know, u,

[14:39] but as far as the, uh, ballot boxes, I

[14:41] believe that is a state legislative

[14:43] issue. Um, to the point where, uh, I

[14:46] believe it's one ballot dropbox per

[14:48] county and it has to be in the office or

[14:50] at least under supervision during hours

[14:52] in which ballots would be accepted. Um,

[14:55] and so as a result of that, we have very

[14:57] little authority as to how the ballot

[14:59] box for for better or worse. Um you know

[15:02] that that is a state uh legislative

[15:04] question. Um and I will say that uh

[15:07] currently the as a state legislature is

[15:09] in session. Um they are undergoing uh

[15:14] the legislative research um legislating

[15:16] period in order to look at changing uh

[15:18] further the parameters of absentee

[15:21] ballots and ballot dropboxes. So um the

[15:23] only commitment that I can really firmly

[15:25] make right now is that we at the F

[15:27] County elections would keep public a

[15:29] breast of those developments and then

[15:30] comply as best we possibly can with

[15:32] state law while also maximizing voter

[15:35] access at the same time. Um, you know,

[15:36] our hands are tied as far as a lot of

[15:38] this goes, but with the autonomy that we

[15:40] do have, we really do want to provide

[15:41] the greatest experience possible.

[15:43] Whether that be if a voter chooses to go

[15:45] down the absentee ballot route, um, we

[15:47] have folks at our office who can help

[15:49] them acquire a ballot, who can help them

[15:50] fill out a ballot in case they're

[15:51] unfamiliar with that process. Um, and

[15:54] and guide them through that without

[15:55] directly doing it for them. Um but you

[15:57] know we really do try and do our best in

[15:59] order to make sure everybody's voice is

[16:00] heard. They can engage uh with the

[16:02] voting process as conveniently as

[16:04] possible. Um as far as voting voting

[16:07] hours, you know, we have had uh Sunday

[16:09] voting in the past in November of 2024

[16:11] and uh about 1300 people did take

[16:14] advantage of it on that day. Um so as we

[16:16] get further into discussing our uh

[16:18] advanced voting times, dates and

[16:19] locations, um I believe there is Sunday

[16:22] voting included for this general primary

[16:23] election. that will be on May 3rd, but

[16:25] I'm sure Director Garrett will expand a

[16:27] little bit on the hours and times for

[16:29] our early voting, so stay tuned in just

[16:32] a few minutes. Um,

[16:36] I hear the uh the certification

[16:38] question. Um, I know that in our

[16:39] calendar that we have before us, um,

[16:41] there is an instance where we will have

[16:43] Monday certification. So, I'm almost

[16:45] half of mine to use that instance as a

[16:47] test run and see how we could proceed in

[16:50] the going in the future. Um but we can

[16:52] discuss that more. Um so with that any

[16:56] other response?

[17:00] » Yes, we uh we did expand voting hours as

[17:02] well for early voting. Um you know uh

[17:06] there are statutory minimums prescribed

[17:08] as per state law from the state

[17:10] legislature that passed them down to us.

[17:12] Um we generally try and find that happy

[17:14] medium which balances both taxpayer

[17:16] dollars um as well as our staff's time

[17:19] and hours, you know, their precious

[17:20] time. in addition of course with voter

[17:22] convenience and voter access. So it's a

[17:25] a tough kind of uh stool to balance on

[17:28] those three legs because they're not

[17:29] always very even. Um but FA County with

[17:32] 100,000 voters and a small but very

[17:34] committed staff we really do our best to

[17:36] work through all these things and

[17:37] balance all those different variables.

[17:39] So see any other comments

[17:42] » Other than we did extend the hours in

[17:44] 2024. Historically we have been 9 to5

[17:49] and we extended it to 9 to 7 for every

[17:53] day including Saturday and then I think

[17:55] we did 12 to 4 on Sunday. So we did

[17:59] extend the hours because I think we

[18:01] realized too many people they can't get

[18:03] back from Atlanta or wherever it is

[18:05] they're working. So we did extend the

[18:07] hours and I feel that was the right

[18:09] thing to do.

[18:10] » Yeah. And additionally that was for a

[18:11] general election too a general

[18:12] presidential election. So we had already

[18:14] a huge

[18:15] turnout. Um, you know, I think we will

[18:17] see that uh to a large extent, maybe

[18:19] less or so because it is a midterm

[18:21] election, but we do have a full slate of

[18:23] state constitutional offices uh that uh

[18:26] will be turning over. We do have a

[18:28] United States Senate election. Um so

[18:30] there is a lot of pressure building up

[18:31] for higher turnout. Um but I think

[18:33] currently as we get into our plan, it

[18:35] seems pretty well balanced as far as

[18:36] access in addition to our times. Um

[18:38] while still keeping that Sunday Sunday

[18:40] voting um into future. Um so with that,

[18:43] I guess with the Uh closing of public

[18:45] comments, we can move on to our item of

[18:47] old business, which is the approval of

[18:49] the 2026 board meeting calendar.

[18:54] » Um yes, I did just close public comment,

[18:56] but I'll tell you what, actually further

[18:58] along in the meeting, we do have an

[19:00] opportunity uh for a public hearing

[19:01] where there will be another set of

[19:03] public comments. Um while it is

[19:05] generally focused on a specific polling

[19:07] location change, you will have your time

[19:09] to address whichever topics you wish.

[19:12] Um, so with that, I'll go ahead and move

[19:14] on to the approval of the meeting

[19:16] calendar, the 2026 board meeting

[19:17] calendar, uh, which we have in front of

[19:19] us. Um, Director Garrett, I would invite

[19:21] you to describe a little bit about what

[19:23] we're looking at. Um, it seems largely

[19:24] in line with what we've done in the past

[19:26] with one exception, I believe, for Junth

[19:29] as a result of the county's closure. So,

[19:31] if you could explain a little bit about

[19:32] this, uh, timeline for us and, uh, your

[19:35] recommendations as for how to proceed.

[19:38] » Yes. In your board packet, you have a

[19:40] 2026 calendar. Um, as previously stated,

[19:44] it is for every fourth Tuesday of the

[19:46] month with the exception of those

[19:49] elections

[19:51] um certification meetings which are

[19:53] typically held on the Friday after the

[19:55] election with the exception of the June

[19:58] runoff election. That Friday falls on

[20:01] the Junth holiday and the county is

[20:03] closed for that day. So, I would like to

[20:06] recommend that we hold our meeting on

[20:07] the following Monday at 1:00 p.m.

[20:10] because by law we have to be certified

[20:12] by 5:00 p.m. on day.

[20:19] » I just have a general question since I'm

[20:21] one of the few that comes and looks at

[20:22] the election records uh before we have

[20:26] the certification. I would presume that

[20:28] for each of these certifices

[20:38] Yes, I believe as of right now that's

[20:40] still the rule from the state board of

[20:41] elections. So you would still need to

[20:43] have three o'clock Friday meeting. I

[20:45] don't know how that's going to work.

[20:48] » Well, I would be willing if I could get

[20:50] the information if I could look at it on

[20:52] the weekend would be great, but it's up

[20:54] to you. I just wanted to be sure we we

[20:57] were still meeting at three for a

[20:59] review. I'll look into it. I'm almost

[21:01] certain it's going to be on our extended

[21:03] calendar with the state that already has

[21:04] that date as acknowledged as Junth. So I

[21:08] have to look into that portion. Thank

[21:09] you for bringing that up. Okay.

[21:15] Either way, that is a special call

[21:18] meeting, so we don't have to worry about

[21:21] it being on our actual calendar right

[21:22] now.

[21:23] » Okay.

[21:24] » And that's the review of precincts

[21:26] returns. Um we typically have that at a

[21:28] 3M meeting. uh two hours before our

[21:31] certification meeting on the Friday of

[21:33] the election week um just to look over

[21:35] the results themselves before we

[21:37] actually add in that last trunch of

[21:38] provisions as well. Um

[21:41] and just to echo something that my

[21:44] colleague over here vice chair Alexander

[21:45] has been speaking about you know looking

[21:47] at the fact that uh having Junth on that

[21:50] Friday necessitates us to move our

[21:52] meeting to Monday I think is a kind of a

[21:53] fair case study and looking at what

[21:55] would Monday certification look like in

[21:57] Faget County going forward. So I kind of

[21:59] like that even though it's by necessity,

[22:01] it does give us a glimpse and a good

[22:02] example into whether we could adopt this

[22:04] policy in the future. You know, in 2027,

[22:06] we have a number of different tasks that

[22:08] we will be undertaking, including uh

[22:10] lining up combo codes, lining up

[22:12] precinct lines with our our county

[22:13] boundaries, making sure everybody has

[22:16] convenient voter experience as possible,

[22:17] but also uh as convenient of of uh work

[22:21] process on the back end for us to

[22:23] facilitate those elections. So I I like

[22:25] this this plan. I think we go ahead and

[22:27] accept accept.

[22:28] » I'm sorry. Excuse me.

[22:29] » Oh, yes. Director Gary.

[22:31] » So, one thing that I did overlook is

[22:33] that our Gabrio conference for the month

[22:35] of March. Um, our meeting is scheduled

[22:38] for March 24th. However, most of the

[22:41] election officials in the state will be

[22:43] out of town. So,

[22:46] could we possibly move that meeting up

[22:49] one week

[22:52] or back one week?

[23:00] And early voting doesn't start until

[23:02] April, correct? April 27.

[23:06] » We can move it a week back. Then we

[23:07] would have all candidates qualify. Then

[23:09] we could, you know,

[23:13] » So March 31st.

[23:14] » Yeah, March 31st. One week later,

[23:17] » I have two.

[23:20] » Mr. Chair, I make a motion that we

[23:22] accept the 2026

[23:26] of elections meeting schedule with one

[23:27] change and that would be uh

[23:32] the March meeting would be moved to uh

[23:36] Tuesday March the 31st from the 24th.

[23:41] » Okay. Motion has been made. I'll go

[23:44] ahead and second it. Um any further

[23:46] discussion?

[23:48] Seeing none, I'll go ahead and call the

[23:49] vote. All in favor of signifying by

[23:52] saying I

[23:52] » I motion carries unanimously.

[23:58] » So that would keep our uh certification

[24:00] on Fridays at 5:00 p.m. um for our

[24:03] elections through throughout this year

[24:04] with the one exception of course being

[24:05] that June runoff um which it seems

[24:08] extremely likely that we will have

[24:09] runoffs for a number of races given the

[24:12] large number of candidates in our

[24:13] primaries. Um so just uh that's our one

[24:17] exception to our calendar going forward

[24:18] for this year.

[24:22] With that, we can go ahead and move on

[24:24] to a lighter item of business, which is

[24:26] just the approval of our past meetings

[24:28] minutes uh from January 2026. And I

[24:32] would accept a motion.

[24:34] » January 27.

[24:38] » Yes.

[24:40] » Mr. Chair, I make a motion that we

[24:42] accept the uh January 27th, 2026 meeting

[24:46] amendments as written.

[24:48] Motion has been made. I'll go ahead and

[24:50] second it. Any further discussion?

[24:51] Seeing none, I'll call the vote. All in

[24:53] favor signify by saying I.

[24:54] » I.

[24:55] » I. Motion carries unanimously.

[24:59] And this brings us to our uh sole item

[25:01] of new business itself, which is the

[25:03] advanced voting times, dates, and

[25:05] locations. Um, director Garrett, I know

[25:08] this is included in your director's

[25:10] report. Um, but I guess we could just go

[25:11] ahead and tackle the hours and then move

[25:14] on to your report.

[25:16] » Yes.

[25:19] All right. So, in your packet, you all

[25:22] have an analysis of weekend voting

[25:24] trends from 2024, which is the last like

[25:28] election to the election that is coming

[25:30] up. I provided this information because

[25:32] I wanted you all to make an informed

[25:34] decision and I wanted you to see the

[25:36] impact that it had as far as turnout on

[25:39] the county. So in uh May 2024,

[25:44] we had 18,695

[25:48] voters cast a ballot. The total

[25:50] registered voters at the time of the

[25:52] election was 89,432,000

[25:56] voters, which is an average of 20.90%.

[26:01] And you have that on your packet where

[26:04] it says analysis at the very bottom of

[26:06] the first page. Yes. Where's the where's

[26:09] the percent

[26:10] » The percentage for May 2024 is not on

[26:12] there. I looked it up as you were

[26:14] talking and going back to those numbers.

[26:16] I went ahead and pulled the election

[26:18] summary report because I wanted to make

[26:19] sure that the information we were

[26:20] putting out were accurate. Um and that

[26:23] we were in just calling out numbers. So

[26:26] again that May 2024 turnout you see

[26:29] where it says 18,695

[26:31] voters but your total of registered

[26:34] voters in the county active. I You like

[26:37] that word?

[26:39] » That is active.

[26:40] » 89,432

[26:43] with a 20.9% turnout. We did not have

[26:46] extended hours nor did we have Sunday

[26:48] voting during that time period or May in

[26:52] 2024. We did not. I looked it up.

[26:54] » Sunday voting extended hours for the

[26:56] November general.

[26:57] » Yes. So that's where I'm getting to. So

[26:59] for the November 2024 general election,

[27:03] which was your first time doing Sunday

[27:05] voting, you had a total of 75,498

[27:10] 95, I'm sorry, voters that turned out to

[27:14] vote out of 91,463.

[27:18] I don't have the percentage. I didn't

[27:19] have enough time to look that up for you

[27:20] all talking. But that was a large time

[27:24] turnout. 58,000

[27:27] approximate was the turnout for advanced

[27:29] voting during that election. When it

[27:32] came to Sunday voting, we had 1,349

[27:36] voters cast a ballot on the Sundays. Um,

[27:39] I'm sorry, we only have one Sunday. That

[27:41] is 1.47%

[27:43] of registered voters.

[27:46] If we do the percentage of advanced

[27:48] voting of the voters that turned out for

[27:50] that Sunday, just for that election,

[27:52] that is 2.31%.

[27:55] of total advanced ballots cast for the

[27:58] Saturdays, which I'll just skip over

[28:01] Saturday. Um, but our weekend turnouts

[28:04] are not that high. So, our Saturdays are

[28:05] 2.62%

[28:07] um for one Saturday and 3.18% for the

[28:10] second Saturday. I want to make sure

[28:12] that you are equipped with the knowledge

[28:15] and the turnout in the previous

[28:16] election, but I don't want to overlook

[28:18] or honor the fact that that was the

[28:20] first time we did Sunday voting. So

[28:21] Sunday voting wasn't really a thing in

[28:23] Faget County. It's something that's

[28:24] newly introduced. So for my

[28:26] recommendation,

[28:28] I do have

[28:31] that's inside of your director report on

[28:34] the second page at the bottom. And that

[28:37] is Monday, April 27th through Saturday,

[28:40] May 1st from 9 to 5:00 p.m.

[28:47] The second page on the bottom

[28:53] So again, that's Monday, April 27th

[28:55] through Saturday, May 1st from 9:00 to

[28:57] 5:00 p.m. Sunday, May 3rd from 12 to

[29:01] 4:00 p.m. Monday, May 4th through

[29:04] Saturday, May 9th from 9:00 to 5:00 p.m.

[29:07] I do want to acknowledge that May 10th

[29:09] is Mother's Day and I would not like to

[29:13] ask staff to work on such a glorious,

[29:16] magnificent, wonderful day.

[29:19] And then Monday, May 11 through Friday,

[29:22] May 15th from 9:00 to 5:00 p.m.

[29:30] Can I ask you,

[29:33] but when you were talking about Saturday

[29:35] voting and we have and we're looking at

[29:38] average. Um, but we have percentages. We

[29:42] don't have numbers. Do you happen to

[29:44] have the numbers that voted on Saturday?

[29:47] » Yes. May I have them, please? I will

[29:51] reforward it to you. So, what what we

[29:53] did was take, you know, how we have to

[29:54] report our daily totals every day. So,

[29:56] we went back to that email, brought that

[29:58] up. I gave it to our intern, Musa, who's

[30:01] excellent with numbers, by the way, and

[30:02] he's also the valid Victorian of Fed

[30:04] County High School. I had to put that

[30:06] plug in there. Um, but I gave him those

[30:09] numbers and he put the proposal

[30:11] together. So, yes, I can bring that back

[30:12] up to you. I absolutely can. And it's by

[30:14] date for both elections. I was just

[30:17] curious because I thought we had

[30:19] and we always have. We've had a fairly

[30:22] good turnout on Saturday. I mean, not

[30:24] like through the week, but we've had a

[30:25] fairly good turnout on Saturday. And

[30:27] Sunday being the first time, it was

[30:30] lower, I think, than we hoped, but it

[30:33] was the first time and I'm not sure how

[30:36] many people, you know, really knew that

[30:38] we had that Sunday uh going. I was just

[30:42] curious on Saturday, although I think

[30:44] it's a good thing. There are too many

[30:45] people working through the week that

[30:47] Saturday may be one of their only

[30:49] options to to get to the polls. So,

[30:52] that's okay. Thank you. So, outside of

[30:54] working hours, that gives them two

[30:56] Saturdays and a Sunday to be able to

[30:58] cast a ballot. Um, I love that we're

[31:01] pushing wanting to vote on the weekends

[31:03] and I highly support it as long as the

[31:07] voters come out and vote. Um, I don't

[31:09] want to waste any taxpayers money by

[31:12] having people report and I don't want to

[31:14] take away from the little time that

[31:15] election officials are allotted during

[31:18] election season under such scrutiny

[31:21] under so many changes um the opportunity

[31:24] to have some free time to themselves as

[31:25] well. So, I'm all for it and we are

[31:28] actively working to also push out

[31:30] information as well. I know that's one

[31:32] of the challenges that I had when I

[31:33] first started. So, it's not that I'm

[31:35] against it. I just want it to matter and

[31:37] to make an impact and just on both ends,

[31:41] help us help the community. So,

[31:44] » Yeah, with that, I mean, I I think this

[31:46] is a a great proposal and it balances

[31:48] both um the lessons that we've learned

[31:50] from the 2024 primary. Um, of course,

[31:53] you know, it was a little

[31:56] a little different because we had at the

[31:59] time two candidates who seemed like they

[32:01] would absolutely win their presidential

[32:02] preference primary. Um, and that was

[32:05] separate from the primary itself for

[32:07] other offices. So, it was kind of a bit

[32:08] of a strange situation as well. Um, but

[32:10] we learned our lessons from that

[32:12] primary, took it on to November, learned

[32:14] our lessons from that. So, as I'm

[32:15] looking at this proposal, I see that it

[32:16] balances those successes, um, what we've

[32:18] learned and also, you know, takes into

[32:20] account the changing voter trends that

[32:22] we've seen and the huge huge embrace by

[32:25] the public of early voting uh over

[32:27] election day voting. You know, it's it's

[32:29] just the voters's choice to choose that

[32:31] that method. Um and so we will, you

[32:34] know, uh moderate in order to

[32:36] accommodate those changes as well. Um so

[32:39] with this, uh I do have one question for

[32:41] you, Director Garrett. Uh just to

[32:43] clarify again the locations as far as

[32:45] the early uh voting. Um I know in the

[32:49] past we have had um a number of

[32:52] locations but uh just want to clarify

[32:54] exactly which locations we would be

[32:56] using for this early voting period.

[32:58] » Though it is not noted in your

[32:59] recommendation the locations would

[33:01] include the fet county elections office

[33:05] city library the tyrone town hall as

[33:09] well as county library.

[33:13] I would like to propose a question to

[33:16] consider.

[33:18] voting because of the turnout. I'm not

[33:22] against our for

[33:27] possibly just doing the election office

[33:30] and not the library and just Peace Tree

[33:34] City Library and that should cover the

[33:36] entire county for Sunday. But I'm not

[33:40] for I'm open to it. Um the elections

[33:44] office and the libraries

[33:47] not far away from each other. So it

[33:50] could possibly even if we still do

[33:52] Tyrone Hall town hall and not do the

[33:55] library but just considering the

[34:00] what did we do before we I thought there

[34:03] was one time that we only had one

[34:07] of the four locations open. I thought it

[34:09] was only the election office but I'm

[34:11] wrong. We talked, we discussed it, but

[34:14] you all ended up passing for all four

[34:16] locations,

[34:19] but it was a discussion.

[34:21] » Yeah. Um, I think my mind first goes to

[34:24] the potential for voter confusion as to

[34:25] going to the library if that's been a

[34:27] location in the past. Um, unfortunately,

[34:31] um, but at the same time, it is

[34:33] extremely close to the office and it

[34:35] would be somewhat reasonable to direct

[34:37] people to the office. Um and considering

[34:39] that that Sunday is on the 3, which is

[34:43] well before um an additional weekend

[34:47] opportunity on Saturday, May 9th, um we

[34:50] could just do the office. Um I think we

[34:54] we probably have to keep Tyrone Library,

[34:56] excuse me, keep the Tyrone location as

[34:58] well, Tyrone town hall location, but I'd

[35:01] be open to your comments as well.

[35:04] » I mean, as much as we want to encourage

[35:07] people to

[35:08] every opportunity

[35:10] uh to vote. Um

[35:14] we've had several changes like in Tyrone

[35:17] uh where the facilities have changed and

[35:19] we're having to use the town hall which

[35:23] is a little different and it's a

[35:25] different type of facility for us to you

[35:29] know bring voters through etc with

[35:32] council chambers. I think the jail is

[35:34] there. So um

[35:37] I'm not sure that I think that the town

[35:40] of Tyrone

[35:43] necessarily needs I don't know that

[35:44] we've ever looked. I can go back and

[35:46] look at the turnout. I think Tyrone is

[35:49] third, you know, between the

[35:52] library. So, it makes sense where the

[35:54] population is, but um I

[35:59] I don't think I would have heartburn if

[36:01] we if we did two two locations. I mean,

[36:05] because the library and the election

[36:07] office are so close. They're a mile

[36:10] apart. Um

[36:14] I don't think I have a problem with us

[36:15] not using especially considering the

[36:17] situation we've got where

[36:20] we really don't have a place to to vote.

[36:24] Does that make any sense what I'm

[36:25] saying?

[36:26] » Yes. But for the record, we do have a

[36:27] place to vote.

[36:28] » Huh. Well, we do, but it's in the town

[36:31] hall in May. um which to me

[36:35] in my discussions is not the best place

[36:38] for us to be. Um

[36:42] I would agree with that. I mean I think

[36:44] also considering this is the the primary

[36:46] we are going to have uh increased

[36:48] turnout but in balancing everything out

[36:50] together. We could do those the

[36:51] elections office and the street city

[36:53] library those two locations for the

[36:55] Sunday um voting and that would I mean

[36:57] it hits the major population centers. Um

[37:00] it also you know considering that we had

[37:03] 349 voters on that one Sunday for four

[37:06] locations. Um, you know, you split that

[37:09] in four ways. It's about 350 voters per

[37:11] location. Um, throughout the entire of

[37:14] the period that we were open, um, which

[37:16] I think comes out to about, you know,

[37:18] uh, just under about a voter every

[37:20] minute. So, it seems like logistically

[37:22] on Sundays we could do this with two

[37:24] locations. Um, and could also balance

[37:27] our staff's time and, you know, still

[37:29] keeping uh to being responsible stewards

[37:31] of

[37:32] as well. So, I guess um our advanced

[37:35] voting recommendation would be the four

[37:37] locations

[37:39] um for the Monday through Monday, April

[37:43] 27th through uh Friday uh May 15th. Um

[37:48] those would be 9 to5 on those weekdays

[37:50] and Saturdays. The exceptions being

[37:53] Sunday, May 3rd, which would be 12 to 4

[37:55] at those two locations, the elections

[37:57] office and the city library. And then uh

[38:01] Mother's Day, which is that Sunday, May

[38:02] 10th, we would not have any early

[38:04] voting. Um so we would still have the

[38:06] Sunday um still have Sunday voting

[38:09] available for all voters in our county,

[38:11] have those locations be in the

[38:13] population centers in our county as

[38:14] well, and uh still balance our needs on

[38:17] the back end uh as far as conducting our

[38:20] work as well.

[38:24] So that's a pretty long worded motion,

[38:27] but I guess I could accept it.

[38:31] » [laughter]

[38:32] » Mr. Chair, I make a motion that we

[38:34] accept the following advanced voting

[38:37] recommendation. that we would have

[38:40] advanced voting Monday, April the 27th

[38:44] through uh May the 15th, Friday May the

[38:48] 15th, 9 to5 which includes

[38:51] um two Saturdays also at 9:00 to 5 and

[38:56] then one Sunday opportunity which would

[38:59] be at the elections office and at the

[39:02] Beach City Library

[39:04] uh from 12 to 4.

[39:08] Motion has been made. I'll go ahead and

[39:10] second it. Um, any further discussion?

[39:14] Seeing none, I'll go ahead. All in favor

[39:16] of accepting our advanced voting

[39:18] recommendation to include our Sunday

[39:20] option and our uh balanced schedule for

[39:24] the rest of the week signify by saying

[39:26] I.

[39:27] » I.

[39:27] » I. Motion carries.

[39:36] I will ask director I think that we've

[39:39] said that we actually look at and vote

[39:42] on the advanced voting the locations and

[39:46] the days and the time uh for every

[39:50] election. Correct.

[39:51] » That's correct.

[39:58] » Okay. Brings us to our next item on the

[40:00] agenda which is of course our public

[40:02] hearings. Um, initially, let me get

[40:04] through this uh mouthful of words. Uh,

[40:06] this is initially our public hearing on

[40:08] staff's challenges to remove registered

[40:10] Bay County voters from the electors list

[40:12] who are registered in the state of

[40:13] Georgia Secretary of State voter

[40:15] registration system as deceased,

[40:17] mentally incompetent, canceled or felon

[40:19] as well as precinct and or polling

[40:21] location changes. Um, of course, this

[40:23] item is as needed. Um, really the the

[40:26] real underlying kicker about this

[40:28] situation is that this is what we call

[40:30] list maintenance. Um this is conducted

[40:32] at the state level by the secretary of

[40:34] state. So again, hate to harp on this

[40:36] underlying lesson for throughout this

[40:38] entire meeting, but we have very little

[40:40] autonomy. We do the best with what we

[40:42] can and what we have. Um but this is

[40:44] conducted at the Secretary of State's

[40:46] office. So we don't have much control

[40:47] over it. We just get the lists and the

[40:49] numbers. Um so with that, Director

[40:50] Garrett, I would invite you to describe

[40:52] some of the numbers that we see among

[40:54] these categories.

[40:55] » Yes. So for the record,

[41:00] Our last board meeting we have cancelled

[41:02] for the deceased 49

[41:07] for the duplicate 47

[41:11] I'm sorry for cancellations which

[41:13] includes duplicates moving out of state

[41:15] voter requested 47 and for felons 10 and

[41:20] that is a total of 466.

[41:23] So for deceased is 409, for

[41:26] cancellations is 47, and for felons is

[41:29] 10, totaling to 466.

[41:32] And I do want to um acknowledge it's

[41:34] part of my board report, so I'm not

[41:36] going to say it later. Um that we are

[41:39] doing our vote review, which we talked

[41:41] about um the last election. So that's

[41:43] when the state gave us over a thousand

[41:44] voters. We had to review for businesses

[41:46] and commercials and we worked through

[41:47] those. Um as soon as our new registar on

[41:51] Wallace started, they decided us another

[41:53] 300 plus additional deceased voters in

[41:56] which um our election clerk Kyle did a

[41:59] magnificent job of leading that project

[42:02] and working through those. So that's why

[42:04] their deceased number is so high this

[42:06] time is because we did go through our

[42:08] deceased voters from the secretary of

[42:10] state's audit that they sent. So they

[42:13] sent us a list of voters to look up and

[42:16] do some kind of information and research

[42:18] on

[42:22] any question.

[42:26] Mr. Chair, I make a motion that we

[42:28] accept cancer.

[42:32] » Do we need any action on this?

[42:34] » I don't think so. No.

[42:37] » I guess the motion carries.

[42:41] Okay. This brings us to public hearing

[42:43] which is the uh polling location

[42:45] proposal. This is number 2026-06.

[42:49] This is the proposal. Um and any

[42:53] elections junkies or big time fans of

[42:55] our wonderful show over here will know

[42:57] that at our last meeting uh we did take

[42:59] some action on the Flint precinct. Um

[43:04] because uh we you know just as we've had

[43:07] uh difficulty in turnover on the board

[43:08] in our office as we're trying to move

[43:10] through our growing to get to a a state

[43:13] of stability for all our voters and our

[43:15] operations. Um, you know, we we're not

[43:17] the only one that's true of right now.

[43:19] Um, and so as we uh are trying to

[43:21] increase our convenience for the voters

[43:22] and make sure that everyone has a

[43:24] convenient lo close location to where

[43:26] they live in order to vote, um, we do

[43:28] need to take some action uh to get our

[43:31] Flint precinct back to where it really

[43:32] needs to be um, to its original

[43:34] location. So, Director Garrett, I'd

[43:35] invite you to describe a little bit more

[43:36] about the situation before we uh, take

[43:38] any action on this. So after our last

[43:41] meeting, um the church reached out

[43:43] reached out to us and informed us that

[43:45] they in fact would like to continue

[43:48] serving as a polling location and

[43:50] apologize for the misunderstanding. I

[43:52] did inform them that we would need the

[43:54] polling reservation form completed

[43:56] because that binds us to using them as a

[43:57] polling location. They have completed

[43:59] that. They have turned it in. They do

[44:01] they do have some new leadership or some

[44:04] kind of transition in the leadership,

[44:05] but they would like to continue serving

[44:07] as a polling location. So I have the

[44:09] documentation that I need for 2026 to

[44:12] revert and reverse back. The good thing

[44:14] is we haven't touched it because that

[44:16] was the same week as our last um board

[44:19] meeting. So, I have everything that I

[44:21] need to be able to reverse this polling

[44:24] location. I just need a motion from you

[44:27] all.

[44:29] » Okay. Well, I guess with that, we can go

[44:31] ahead and open up the public hearing

[44:32] portions of this. Um take action. Um I

[44:36] guess the uh public hearing be operating

[44:39] under the same rules. Um, speakers will

[44:41] be given a fiveminute maximum time

[44:43] limit, speak before the board of

[44:44] elections about various topics, issues,

[44:46] and concerns. Uh, speakers must direct

[44:48] comments to the board and responses will

[44:50] be reserved at the direction. So I would

[44:52] invite anybody who wishes to speak on

[44:53] this subject, please come to the podium,

[44:54] state your name, your fate county

[44:56] residency and begin your comments.

[45:11] Good afternoon. My name is Lindsay Cobra

[45:14] and I would like to speak on two

[45:17] portions

[45:18] as far as the location. I'm happy to the

[45:21] church worked everything out and also

[45:24] thank you all for the work that you are

[45:26] doing. The two issues that I wanted to

[45:28] address were the issue that you all

[45:31] voted on which was the fact that voting

[45:33] in the elections office. I'm in the

[45:35] community here speak of a mother and

[45:40] how important it is for a mother not to

[45:42] take her child

[45:45] next to a jail. And so that was my first

[45:48] thought when I heard about

[45:51] Tyrone, oh

[45:55] there

[45:56] go

[46:04] and you can bring your child with you.

[46:06] They can experience it. The last time I

[46:08] went to vote there were plenty of high

[46:09] school students. It was their first time

[46:10] and everybody clap for them. You just

[46:12] want to kind of um create a culture of

[46:15] creating civic engagement for the

[46:17] children as well. being at a library

[46:21] would be better than I think

[46:24] and then also I did hear that you will

[46:27] have 9 to5 voting on those days. I know

[46:29] you already

[46:31] in the future just

[46:36] for this particular time

[46:40] I don't want anybody stay too late

[46:45] but nevertheless we just want to

[46:48] for those of us who are coming with

[46:50] children after hours.

[46:56] » Thank you, Miss Coper. Any additional uh

[46:59] comments

[47:02] and please podium state your name res9

[47:12] [clears throat]

[47:28] Just wanted to comment

[47:31] something

[47:33] in great

[47:36] comment about the Monday

[47:38] certification

[47:51] of the balance.

[47:56] major American history college state

[48:00] taught high school American history two

[48:02] years in the 1960s been a long time ago

[48:06] those times I never thought speaking

[48:09] like this today and haven't been I've

[48:11] always voted but in politics moving that

[48:15] way now I feel like our country is in a

[48:18] very bad spot right now personally I

[48:20] think that two things we were discussing

[48:23] particular today voting hours days

[48:29] getting more voters out. I think the two

[48:32] voting

[48:35] places

[48:37] I think

[48:45] I never thought I was high school

[48:47] teaching

[48:48] that worry about this topic. My

[48:51] grandchildren both live in Georgia.

[48:55] All five of them in Georgia. My two

[48:56] children live in Georgia. I worry about

[48:58] their future in our democracy.

[49:04] Words that are very important and I

[49:07] think sometimes we

[49:14] thank you very much. Any additional

[49:16] comments?

[49:26] Thank you for indulging comment. So I

[49:29] was shocked. So you have no evening

[49:31] hours for voting at all.

[49:36] So you do for so for the general are

[49:39] there evening hours?

[49:41] Is it past? I guess I let me make a

[49:44] statement. I know it's a comment. I

[49:46] would hope that for the general election

[49:50] that there are hours beyond 5 p.m. So

[49:55] that was shocking to me. And I guess the

[49:58] two Saturdays and the one Sunday

[50:00] hopefully will accommodate

[50:03] schedules during the primary

[50:06] that if I understood it was hard to

[50:08] hear, but if I understood right, there's

[50:10] two Saturdays and one Sunday. So perhaps

[50:13] that So I'm just I guess I would just

[50:15] say I would just I hope that during the

[50:18] general election there are hours for

[50:21] people

[50:23] 5:00.

[50:29] Thank you. Any additional public

[50:31] comments?

[50:36] Okay, seeing none, uh I will

[50:40] quickly just respond to a few of those.

[50:42] Um, of course, balancing the the safety

[50:45] of our voters um all and all of those

[50:47] who come with them, whether the children

[50:49] uh are joining them, is a huge concern

[50:51] of ours. Um, and of course, you know,

[50:53] this is just the primary election, we

[50:55] will have another opportunity to set

[50:57] these hours and locations for the

[50:59] general election. And uh while we will

[51:02] have a large turnout for the primary

[51:04] elections given the large number of

[51:05] candidates and large number of offices

[51:07] that are have open seats, um you know,

[51:10] really as we look November just as we

[51:12] did in 2024. Having Sunday voting,

[51:15] having expanded locations and hours um

[51:18] to meet the demand from the voters

[51:20] themselves during the early voting

[51:22] period, I'm sure is something that we

[51:23] will look at maintaining uh especially

[51:26] you know for the general election when

[51:27] we're going to have massive massive

[51:29] turnout for a number of different races.

[51:31] Um so while this is just uh you know

[51:33] going to affect our primary election

[51:34] here for uh May uh the May primary which

[51:39] will be on the 19th I believe. Um, you

[51:42] know, the uh expanded locations will

[51:44] absolutely be something that we pursue

[51:46] uh for the uh November election. Um,

[51:52] you have anything like

[51:54] » Um I would just like to say that um

[51:59] our board we came on board two two years

[52:01] ago. Our board was the first one I

[52:03] believe that actually allowed Sunday

[52:06] voting and expanded the hours and we

[52:10] were to do that. I do feel it's very

[52:12] important. Um, and I'm sure that we will

[52:16] go ahead and look at that when we have

[52:18] we feel we're going to have a bigger

[52:19] turnout for the for the general. One

[52:22] thing I would like to ask is I

[52:25] understand everybody wanting to have the

[52:28] most opportunity that they can for

[52:30] anybody to go and vote. uh we would like

[52:33] that as well. But I would ask

[52:37] that those of you that are very

[52:39] concerned, would you also help to make

[52:42] sure that your friends and your

[52:44] neighbors turn out? I mean, that would

[52:47] help tremendously for us to be able to

[52:50] offer more hours uh in voting. So, I'm

[52:54] just asking for your help. We understand

[52:57] the need and the request, but please

[53:00] help us as well. I say to the gentleman

[53:02] from Tyrone, I'm also from Tyrone. 35

[53:06] years that are there um and

[53:10] this transition is just because the old

[53:13] voting location, you know, fell in. So,

[53:16] you know, this is not ideal, but I

[53:18] believe it's being taken care of. I am a

[53:20] Constitution coach and therefore I've

[53:22] given uh Constitution Day celebrations

[53:26] at the town hall. So, we'll see if I do

[53:29] it this year.

[53:31] And just to answer one more thing which

[53:33] I didn't get to um just to clarify as

[53:35] far as what we decided for our

[53:37] certification times um for the uh May uh

[53:43] general primary that will be the uh May

[53:45] 27th at 5:00 pm. Um that is our

[53:49] certification meeting. Um, and then the

[53:53] Monday, June 22nd, which will be after

[53:55] the Junth uh celebration holiday, on

[53:58] that Friday, we would have our

[53:59] certification meeting on that Monday at

[54:00] 100 p.m. Um, but then of course for the

[54:03] general election in November, we'll be

[54:04] back to our normal Friday, 5:00 p.m.,

[54:06] Friday, November 6th, and Friday,

[54:08] December 4th, if there is a runoff

[54:10] necessary.

[54:24] Director Garrett, just that I'm seeing

[54:25] this now before we might need to make a

[54:28] small amendment to our action that we've

[54:30] taken seeing as uh May 27th

[54:36] is a Wednesday.

[54:40] So we may need to revise that to May 22.

[54:46] which would be the Friday after

[54:49] » Um the 19th.

[54:52] » That is correct.

[54:53] » Okay. So, I guess we could just I would

[54:58] Yeah, I would accept a

[55:01] polling location after.

[55:09] Okay. Seeing as there are no other

[55:11] public comments, I guess we can go ahead

[55:13] and take uh action on the uh proposal

[55:16] itself and then we can amend the

[55:18] calendar after that. Just finish the

[55:20] public comment period. Um so with that,

[55:22] I guess I could accept a motion. Um this

[55:23] is of course just maintaining the the

[55:26] voting precinct there at our number six

[55:28] Flint. U Flint

[55:30] the precinct is Mcdana Road Baptist

[55:32] Church there 352 Mcdana Road Fil,

[55:35] Georgia Postal Press. Um it's been the

[55:39] in the past. We're just keeping it uh

[55:41] maintaining it in the same location.

[55:43] We've had a little, you know, internal

[55:45] paperwork to do, but for all intents and

[55:47] purposes, nobody in the public needs to

[55:48] change their behavior or has uh been led

[55:51] to believe too much to that a change

[55:53] could happen. So, there really is very

[55:55] little impact to the public as far as

[55:56] voter convenience. Um, so with that, I

[55:58] would accept a motion uh on our uh

[56:01] proposal number 2026-05.

[56:04] » Mr. Chair, I make a motion that we

[56:06] accept the proposal to reverse and go

[56:09] back to

[56:13] original.

[56:16] » Okay, I'll go ahead and second. Any

[56:17] further discussion? Seeing none, all in

[56:20] favor signify by saying I.

[56:22] » I.

[56:22] » I. Motion carries unanimously. Okay. And

[56:26] then uh at this point I would

[56:29] accept a motion to amend the 2026 board

[56:34] meeting calendar to clarify that our May

[56:37] meeting will be May 22nd 2026.

[56:40] » Mr.

[56:42] I move I will make a motion that we

[56:45] amend

[56:46] excuse me our meeting schedule

[56:50] or and we'll confirm that we are

[56:52] changing Tuesday March the 24th to March

[56:57] the 31st as well as Friday May the 27th

[57:01] we will change to Friday May the 22.

[57:07] » Uh I'll go ahead and second that motion.

[57:09] Um,

[57:10] seeing no further discussion, um, I'll

[57:13] go ahead and I will call vote. All in

[57:17] favor of accepting that March 31st is

[57:20] our meeting and then May 22.

[57:25] All in favor signify by saying I

[57:27] » I motion carries.

[57:33] » And that brings us to our uh, director's

[57:36] report. So, Director Garrett, please uh

[57:38] enlighten us.

[57:40] » Greetings, board. As of February 24th,

[57:44] there are 98,523

[57:48] registered voters. 91,352

[57:52] of those are active registered voters in

[57:55] Faget County. Um,

[57:58] qualifying will begin on next week,

[58:01] March 2nd, beginning at 9:00 a.m. all

[58:04] the way through Friday um March 6 at

[58:07] 12:00 p.m. We were able to meet with our

[58:11] well I held a meeting um yesterday with

[58:14] the parties um to answer any questions

[58:17] that they may have um and also make sure

[58:20] that we are squared away for reporting

[58:22] each day um with our elections.

[58:26] It's going to be short.

[58:29] Um, as far as renovation updates to

[58:32] sweet A, um, we are almost complete. We

[58:36] are very, very close to being completed.

[58:38] We are still waiting on the sink to be

[58:42] demolished and removed. So, that is what

[58:45] we are waiting on before we can begin

[58:47] the moving process. And I'm hopeful that

[58:49] we can get an update within the next two

[58:51] weeks on when that date will be

[58:53] clarified.

[58:55] We still are in search of an election

[58:57] supervisor, so that position remains

[58:59] vacant. Um, we're also looking for

[59:02] additional poworkers as always, as well

[59:05] as um seasonal technicians in the

[59:08] office.

[59:10] I do want to address two things from the

[59:14] comments. So, you're correct for the

[59:17] dropboxes. I just wanted to clarify that

[59:19] it is by the OCGA code. So, we can't

[59:22] extend those hours. It's during the

[59:24] advanced voting days and times and they

[59:27] have to be under surveillance or made by

[59:28] a person which is in our front office

[59:31] and it's one drop box per 100,000

[59:35] voters. So with us only having 90

[59:39] 1,000 voters

[59:41] we're only able to have one dropbox. Um

[59:45] also we will be holding voter

[59:47] registration classes on the March 10th

[59:50] and March 18th.

[59:52] I will get you all the the location and

[59:56] time at a later date and we'll also post

[59:57] it on our social media page and on our

[1:00:00] um website as well when that information

[1:00:04] is confirmed. I also wanted to address

[1:00:08] advanced voting for the young lady with

[1:00:10] the young child. I wanted to make sure I

[1:00:13] just wanted to be clear. It seems that

[1:00:15] it might have been um misunderstood. So

[1:00:17] the library is open all of those days

[1:00:20] except for Sunday in which library is

[1:00:22] already closed on Sundays. So, it

[1:00:25] actually just benefits the library of

[1:00:26] not having to have staffing to come in

[1:00:28] and open up just for us. For all the

[1:00:30] other advanced voting days, the library

[1:00:32] will be open and available.

[1:00:36] Um lastly,

[1:00:40] we often talk about our proposals and

[1:00:42] our changes to locations

[1:00:45] and just trying working to clean up

[1:00:50] our polling locations even more so

[1:00:53] solidify locations so that we don't have

[1:00:56] to do continuous moves because it's

[1:00:58] starting to become a trend. So I am very

[1:01:01] excited for 2027

[1:01:04] to be able to at all of our polling

[1:01:06] locations and get some permanency with

[1:01:09] those um facilities so that we don't

[1:01:12] have to keep inquiring these changes.

[1:01:13] And I do understand that things happen

[1:01:16] and I I I will say FA's community is

[1:01:19] very supportive. Um I come from another

[1:01:21] county and we rely heavily on the

[1:01:23] schools because it was so much to kind

[1:01:27] of rely on those community facilities.

[1:01:29] But here in Fyet, the community is very

[1:01:32] supportive. However, we've been notified

[1:01:36] that um on yesterday, just over clipped,

[1:01:39] so this is yesterday's emergency polling

[1:01:41] location for our future consideration

[1:01:43] that Fet Friendship Community Church

[1:01:46] will be closing its doors and they're

[1:01:48] not available for the May 19th election

[1:01:50] nor the June election. That's also the

[1:01:53] facility that we just colllocated with

[1:01:56] number eight for New Hope.

[1:02:00] Is that the name of the precinct? the

[1:02:01] church at New Hope closed down Oakidge.

[1:02:04] » Well, Oakidge is 28. I just can't

[1:02:06] remember number 28. I mean,

[1:02:11] » Yes. So, we just colllocated that

[1:02:14] location. So, now staff will be going

[1:02:16] back to look at

[1:02:18] in my own recommendation just

[1:02:20] colllocating with another precinct

[1:02:22] that's touching it. So, I just received

[1:02:24] that information yesterday. I haven't

[1:02:25] had a chance to look at it, but I just

[1:02:27] wanted to give you the heads up that we

[1:02:29] will be addressing that

[1:02:33] We're talking something like six or

[1:02:35] seven thousand registered voters between

[1:02:37] those two. Yes, I believe it was around

[1:02:39] 6K.

[1:02:41] But whatever change we make, we will.

[1:02:42] So, um, register on baller has hold off

[1:02:45] on sending them precinct cards at the

[1:02:46] beginning of this year. Um, they're

[1:02:48] they're called special precinct cards

[1:02:50] because we want to make sure that we

[1:02:51] don't confuse them. So once we make a

[1:02:54] determination, we'll be sending their

[1:02:56] precinct cards along with a notification

[1:02:58] from our office on colored sheet of

[1:02:59] paper so that hopefully they'll pay

[1:03:01] attention to the notification when they

[1:03:03] receive it in the mail once we figure

[1:03:05] out what it is or determine what will be

[1:03:07] done for the May election. And I do

[1:03:09] appreciate them giving us a heads up now

[1:03:12] versus closer to the election. That will

[1:03:15] also require the additional signage at

[1:03:17] those locations as well.

[1:03:21] That concludes my

[1:03:23] report.

[1:03:26] Do you all have any questions for me?

[1:03:46] No further questions.

[1:03:48] Um, with that, I'll reach out to uh

[1:03:50] Patrick St, our county attorney. Do you

[1:03:52] have a report for us this month, sir?

[1:03:54] » Uh, just uh wanted to brief you on the

[1:03:57] state board of elections meeting last

[1:03:59] week. We did we were um requested to be

[1:04:02] there on two cases that we were

[1:04:04] responding. I think there were actually

[1:04:06] five total FA County cases, but we were

[1:04:08] the respondent on two of them. One

[1:04:10] involved um ballot paper left in a

[1:04:13] printer that was used at an elections

[1:04:16] location. Um received a letter of

[1:04:18] instruction on that. We've taken steps

[1:04:20] to correct that going forward. And then

[1:04:22] the other one was an accessibility ADA

[1:04:25] issue at at uh it was a ADA

[1:04:30] accessibility issue at Holy Trinity,

[1:04:33] » Holy Trinity Church. Um at the time this

[1:04:36] complaint was made, apparently there was

[1:04:37] a rise of I believe two and a half

[1:04:39] inches going into the location. Since

[1:04:42] then, we've actually moved the polling

[1:04:44] location to another place on that

[1:04:46] campus. longer an issue. So we received

[1:04:49] was it a letter of instruction or a

[1:04:50] dismissal?

[1:04:52] » Letter of instruction.

[1:04:55] So that was that was the result.

[1:04:57] » Just to clarify a little bit for members

[1:04:59] of the audience, um those are very very

[1:05:01] favorable outcomes to those cases. You

[1:05:03] know, as uh we have issues or uh

[1:05:06] self-reported errors in our own election

[1:05:08] system, uh we always report them and

[1:05:10] make sure that they raise them all. flag

[1:05:12] so that way we can work with our

[1:05:14] partners at the state level um to

[1:05:15] resolve anything. Um and so I just want

[1:05:17] to give kudos right now that I've got

[1:05:19] the opportunity to director Garrett and

[1:05:20] attorney style um for developing those

[1:05:22] favorable outcomes and protecting all

[1:05:24] our fate county voters um and working

[1:05:26] with state election board to make sure

[1:05:27] that that happens. Um so with that I

[1:05:30] guess we can go ahead and start board

[1:05:31] me.

[1:05:33] » Thank you. Um I will also address the

[1:05:37] audience and I do appreciate you coming.

[1:05:41] talk about pole workers, understand that

[1:05:44] uh we're trying to provide everything we

[1:05:46] can for voters to be able to to vote. Uh

[1:05:49] but you have to understand it isn't

[1:05:52] really it isn't the cost as much. I

[1:05:55] mean, we do have to look at that, but uh

[1:05:58] it's becoming harder and harder for us

[1:06:00] to get poll workers and uh so I will

[1:06:03] encourage you if you want to have

[1:06:06] additional hours and days uh of early

[1:06:10] voting that you agree that you try to

[1:06:14] submit and you be willing to uh be a

[1:06:17] poll worker or encourage your neighbors

[1:06:19] and your friends. We can't run the

[1:06:22] elections without staff those locations.

[1:06:26] And so anytime we ask for them to be

[1:06:29] there more hours and more days because

[1:06:32] it's the same set uh you know people

[1:06:34] that have to work those three weeks uh

[1:06:37] that we need help from the public for

[1:06:40] y'all to encourage people to be willing

[1:06:43] to work it. Those are long days. uh you

[1:06:48] know election day is 12 hours well it's

[1:06:50] really 14 to 15 uh but we need the

[1:06:53] workers or we can't open the facilities

[1:06:55] so I'm just saying that so that you are

[1:06:58] aware of all the parameters that

[1:07:02] has to go through and we have to take

[1:07:04] into account um to try to provide those

[1:07:08] hours. So

[1:07:11] thank you for coming. Thank you, Vice

[1:07:13] Chair Alexander. Um, just to echo those

[1:07:15] sentiments, yeah, thank you. Thank you

[1:07:17] for coming out to our meetings. Um, you

[1:07:19] know, it's it isn't the Super Bowl, but

[1:07:21] it is important. Um, so it's not as

[1:07:23] entertaining, but it certainly is uh

[1:07:26] critical. Um, so thank you for your

[1:07:28] support. Thank you for coming out. Thank

[1:07:29] you to all those who give public

[1:07:30] comments. And as you see that the

[1:07:31] system, the way that we do it with the

[1:07:33] public comments is a little strange, but

[1:07:34] we do really do our best to uh offer

[1:07:37] responses to everything that's brought

[1:07:38] up. Um, and again, one of the biggest

[1:07:40] things that I think we and accomplish in

[1:07:43] our role is to maximize our

[1:07:45] accessibility and our approachability.

[1:07:48] Um so again, fy countya.gov on the

[1:07:50] elections department website you can see

[1:07:52] our phone number, our email address,

[1:07:54] reach out to us directly or reach out to

[1:07:55] us at the office if any other questions

[1:07:57] or comments or concerns were to arise.

[1:07:59] We really pride ourselves on being as

[1:08:02] communicative and receptive as possible.

[1:08:04] So you know use the levers that you

[1:08:06] have, use the opportunities like Vice

[1:08:08] Chair Alexander just mentioned to get

[1:08:10] involved in the election system to to

[1:08:11] see how it actually works and to see the

[1:08:13] checks and balances that we have in our

[1:08:15] system that protect our rights um up and

[1:08:17] down the ballot for all reasons. Um so

[1:08:20] with that, I've got one more thing. Um

[1:08:22] just, you know, as as we say sometimes

[1:08:24] in our meetings, we like to, you know,

[1:08:26] always respect our staff and give them

[1:08:27] as much kudos as possible. And you know,

[1:08:30] our our intern has been working his rear

[1:08:32] end off. Uh Musa, I guess, is finally

[1:08:35] getting some recognition from the school

[1:08:37] as validictorian. So congratulations to

[1:08:39] him. Um you know, he does work and has

[1:08:42] actually been working on a voter

[1:08:43] education series. I would accept a round

[1:08:44] of applause. Absolutely. Um I don't

[1:08:47] believe he is here right now. He is

[1:08:48] hopefully studying on his homework and

[1:08:51] or preparing for the SATs. Um but uh

[1:08:54] just want to again express our extreme

[1:08:57] uh pride in Musa and the work that he

[1:08:59] does.

[1:09:00] » While you're giving kudos, he has a 4.6

[1:09:02] GPA. Just throw that out there.

[1:09:04] » I can't even count that high. 4.6. Very

[1:09:08] impressive. Um but it really it's with

[1:09:10] uh strong, smart, good faith, kind folks

[1:09:15] like Musa that make our office work so

[1:09:17] well. Um, it's why we're really

[1:09:18] fortunate to have Director Garrett in

[1:09:20] the role that she's in. Um, and

[1:09:22] everybody at our office, um, you know,

[1:09:24] Malcolm and Jenny, uh, who have come on

[1:09:26] the board, uh, come on board with us not

[1:09:27] so long ago, um, but have really become

[1:09:29] indispensable members of the family. So,

[1:09:31] thank you to everybody. Thank you to

[1:09:32] Musa. Congratulations to Musa. And with

[1:09:34] that, I don't have anything else. So,

[1:09:36] » Can I make one other comment in regards

[1:09:39] your question about dropes understand

[1:09:42] that that was a state law change where

[1:09:45] we used to have a lot of drop boxes and

[1:09:47] they were outside. There was difficulty

[1:09:50] and a lot of problems uh in Georgia but

[1:09:54] in other states uh with those being

[1:09:57] abused so they say and but the state law

[1:10:00] changed for that reason uh that it had

[1:10:03] to go indoors where somebody could watch

[1:10:06] it and that's why there's only

[1:10:09] 100,000. So, I just wanted you to know

[1:10:11] that wasn't us. That was state law um

[1:10:15] that came down and they've talked about

[1:10:17] doing away with them completely. So, I

[1:10:19] would encourage you to talk to your

[1:10:22] state legislator. Okay. Thank you.

[1:10:26] » Absolutely. With that, I don't have

[1:10:27] anything else. So, I can guess we can go

[1:10:29] ahead and accept a motion to adjurnn.

[1:10:32] » Mr. Chair, I motion been made. No second

[1:10:36] is required. Any further discussion?

[1:10:38] Seeing none, all in favor signify by

[1:10:40] saying I. I. We are joured. Thank you

[1:10:42] all very much.

Feburary 24th 2026 Regular Board of Elections Meeting

Transcript