The Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections met Monday afternoon to discuss changes to the procedures that deal with voter registration challenges. Several members of the board worried that excessive numbers of challenges would bog down their already beleaguered work force.
Paving the Way for Voter Registration Challenges
In Georgia, voters are allowed to challenge the registration status of their fellow ballot-casters. A new piece of legislation went into effect this month that will likely expand this ability.
In late March, Georgia Republicans passed controversial Senate Bill 189, which establishes residency requirements for registered voters. Democratic opponents of the bill have stated that it will lead to overwhelming numbers of challenges to registered voters, and will likely result in the removal of legitimate voters from the rolls as well as voter intimidation.
Democrats point to a clause which allows the disenfranchisement of those with a non-residential address. They say the homeless will be unfairly impacted by the law. The bill also allows challengers to use the National Change of Address Data Base as evidence to support the removal of voters from the rolls. Critics say this data base is notoriously unreliable.
Republican supporters of Senate Bill 189, on the other hand, claim that the bill helps every day citizens protect democracy. They say that the bill sufficiently protects voters by prohibiting challenges made 45 days before an election from being processed until after that election.
An Unhappy Audience
On Monday afternoon at 12:30 pm, the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections and Voter Registration met for a special meeting—a change that was not popular with Athenians in the audience.
During the public comment period, several listeners objected to how and when the meeting had been scheduled.
“There appears to be a lack of transparency. This room should be full with other people, but they’re working,” said one audience member.
Some residents called into question why one major item was on the agenda--the procedural changes that govern how voter registration challenges are processed.
“You are anticipating challenges. Do you think there are noncitizens poised to vote? Am I understanding that you are using your authority to suppress challenges to free and fair elections? When citizens are forced to request open records through Freedom of Information Act in order to get information that should be readily available and have to pay for it, then something is lurking in the shadows,” said another woman.
The Board Deliberates
Opponents of Senate Bill 189 across the state have worried that the bill will open the floodgates of voter challenges, overwhelming local staff. During Monday’s meeting, Athens-Clarke County Election Officials apparently shared this fear. The Board’s Secretary Adam Shirley:
“There is an item I’ve heard is being considered by other election boards as a way to help protect staff from frivolous voter challenges. In the same way if I were to make an open records request that would require thousands of documents being scanned, they would do that if they were required to, but I would have to bear the burden of the cost of that.”
While some members of the board immediately expressed support, others were concerned about what would make a challenge frivolous.
No decision was made Monday. The board voted to send the procedure to the county’s legal team for review.
A Polling Place in Flux
Voter challenge procedures were not the only items discussed, however. Voters in Precinct 7A may see their polling location change from the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship on Timothy Road to another nearby location for the upcoming election.
Board members also postponed this decision to a later meeting as they waited for more information.
In the midst of discussion, however, members of the board tried to defend the choice of the special meeting’s time and date. In order to make the change to precinct 7A’s polling place, the board said it would have to notify the public 30 days before the election.
Board member Hunaid Qadir:
“I hope you all know that the only reason we had to have the meeting as soon as possible was for the election and this was the only time that would work, but I do completely understand that evening times do work out better.”
The Board of Election’s next meeting will be on August 13th.
