[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6509967,"mediaKeyId","5418386-2aba959363e44060d48739fded14b4fb","parentId",5418386,"title","Poll workers and party leaders urge training and raise SB 189, ADA and voter-roll concerns during DeKalb elections public comment","audioSeconds",772,"startMs",631000,"endMs",1403000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5418386-2aba959363e44060d48739fded14b4fb&start=631&end=1403","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5418386-2aba959363e44060d48739fded14b4fb/thumbnail_631000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6509967/DeKalb-County/Georgia/Poll-workers-and-party-leaders-urge-training-and-raise-SB-189-ADA-and-voter-roll-concerns-during-DeKalb-elections-public-comment","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6509967-a8f89673ca7cc2e271ed854520b3319c/orig.mp4?Expires=1770609407&Signature=irQslgVm9O32Dtzbe7x23Uk77YDGPxY7b7oO0vbxOoU-NNmi8NVGSgbX6xWFGLRZ1a5pDTy5jkhB~D9aK-rLb0dB6k8ZItYtSlss4iSyK-ufqaG60Y~GyzRetVh5ANRbQaKYAk8de2Ofpm~rSmMRrI4m5OCREX7wn964cA9DTnSk0z06mYVpH9et4Se1rWnbXrR4JBoDCoYbvZtrcqL6mi1nyoXrllDmkXgZXoGs7VcFkSj6tip~aClYxGZGSpBIUOt0rBh~5DOmtPrBGLHTgfFjRrPD6JusAPeu5-P-KmOzQ2zwSq4gSdLc7PXMSjzxn7hy3QQQHt-7hxR9XWoxTg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","DeKalb County","date","2025-07-17T00:00:00Z","article","Public commenters at the DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections meeting pressed the newly seated board to prioritize poll-worker orientation and training, raised accessibility and ballot-counting concerns tied to state law changes, and urged more active maintenance and review of the voter roll.

Janet Grant, a DeKalb resident who said she serves as an area manager responsible for 10 precincts in the Decatur area, congratulated the new appointees and recommended that new board members participate in the same poll-manager training used for poll managers and consider working during the November election to learn the process first-hand.

“Until I was a poll manager and actually worked in election, I had no idea of the complexity of the process and the thorough system of checks and balances that are in place,” Grant said.

Michael Beach, an assistant poll manager in the county, thanked staff for improvements in training and forms and urged hands-on testing of the ATI — the audio-tactile interface used to assist voters with disabilities — with people who are blind.

“It would be great to bring in a few people that are blind to actually go through that,” Beach said, describing the current ATI check-in flow as awkward for voters who cannot see the screen and may need assistance.

Beach also urged the county to consider using the same countywide voter database process used during early voting on Election Day to allow voters to cast ballots at any precinct without provisional processing. He said the current practice forces some voters into provisional options and extra travel.

Several commenters raised concerns about the state law known in the meeting as SB 189, which a public commenter said bans the use of QR codes, barcodes or similar coding by July 1, 2026 and directs vote counting to human-readable text on ballots. In public remarks, Liz Troop said local election officials and the county’s blue-ribbon committee need to plan for compliance and consider hand-marked, optically scanned ballots as an alternative.

“2026 is coming very soon. This seems like an emergency to me,” Troop said, urging the board to address SB 189 compliance.

Other speakers called for more active and transparent voter-roll maintenance. Bill Henderson, who identified himself as a frequent challenger of the voter roll, urged the board to consider citizen-submitted challenges on their merits and to explain the reasoning behind decisions on challenges. Kendra Bogalski, who identified herself as the newly elected chair of the DeKalb County Republican Party, praised the new appointees from her party and criticized tight timelines related to rejected nominees, saying those timelines complicate the county committee’s vetting process.

Cheryl Dudley, a long-time DeKalb resident, noted the anniversary of the passing of Rep. John Lewis and urged the board to continue protecting voting rights.

The public comment period was governed by rules the board read aloud: comments may be made in person or submitted by email, limited to two minutes, and submitters must provide a first and last name for the record. The board does not respond during the public comment period but may follow up afterward.

No formal board action was taken during public comment; the remarks were recorded for the record and will inform staff and board members as they prepare for certification and any required policy or procedural work.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","DeKalb County - Board of Registration and Elections Meeting - Jul 17, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Poll workers, party leaders and residents used the public comment period at a DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections meeting to press for more training, raise accessibility concerns about the audio-tactile interface and urge planning for compliance with SB 189.","taxTitle","DeKalb County, Georgia","taxId",3571,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6509972,"DeKalb County elections board members sworn in; Carly Swift chosen chair, Vasu Abiraman elected vice chair",2084,7000,2091000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5418386-2aba959363e44060d48739fded14b4fb&start=7&end=2091","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5418386-2aba959363e44060d48739fded14b4fb/thumbnail_7000.jpg","/articles/6509972/DeKalb-County/Georgia/DeKalb-County-elections-board-members-sworn-in-Carly-Swift-chosen-chair-Vasu-Abiraman-elected-vice-chair","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6509972-e89cab1e156dfb83a5aaf0a1fafbeb11/orig.mp4?Expires=1770609407&Signature=iPNxqoLMsvfbTDBaNLpDx7BHGebPEFJvoNLy~OjXleu-j0yrUB86PfEyYUKR24gcnms~MdV27j5DDo1dD7qvCp4Hl3px-Fof1gO2KRrsBPu437XHvqufHi4bii8-hhTYSQRNqtfNM275-gamtY~HtKjMdPtDevCYjdFYJiBGK2Gd8SOmUpiR9hhGVYLr2kor~VbCSz1A9hfu1392oB5VOoieTSK31ZvWLpC2O09bKu1tQZOBra9Wrj7Vlvs7Jz5O70PTu8jftdZdHyxy1veo3Moybu8hXlPz8qvGZLITJsth2QIH0PDsBH0pvqik5nIMV9I79TIZT4Dpy1hX29-2EA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Judge Hargrove, chief judge of the probate court of DeKalb County, administered the oath of office to newly appointed members of the DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections, and the board then elected its leadership for the term.

“I am going to ask the board members to stand,” Judge Hargrove said before administering the oath and the loyalty oath that board members are required to take. The gathering included formal recitation of both the duties oath and the loyalty oath.

The swearing-in cleared the way for routine organizational business. The board unanimously approved the meeting agenda after a motion to approve and a second were recorded. The board then nominated and elected Carly Swift as chair by unanimous vote. After the chair election, Vasu Abiraman and Travis Bowden were nominated for vice chair; following votes, Abiraman was elected vice chair by a 4–1 tally. The meeting concluded later with a motion to adjourn that passed unanimously.

Board members present at roll call were Vasu Abiraman, Gail Lee, Travis Bowden, DeLay Lohman and Carly Swift, which the clerk recorded as a quorum.

Swift, newly elected chair of the DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections, said she was “looking forward to a a great and, collaborative term.” The board did not debate policy changes during the organizational motions, which focused on establishing leadership and workflow for upcoming items, including a required pre-certification review of a recent special runoff.

The procedural votes recorded during the meeting included approval of the agenda, election of chair and vice chair, and adjournment. The board announced no objections to the oath documents after Judge Hargrove administered them and recommended the members sign the forms before leaving.

Less formal remarks before and after the organizational votes included brief comments thanking staff and poll workers for recent election work and noting that the pre-certification review would follow.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to approve agenda: moved (motion recorded), seconded by Travis Bowden; outcome: approved (unanimous).
- Motion to elect Carly Swift as chair: moved and seconded (recorded in meeting); outcome: approved (unanimous).
- Motion to elect Vasu Abiraman as vice chair: motion carried; outcome: approved (4–1).
- Motion to adjourn: moved and seconded; outcome: approved (unanimous).

The board scheduled its next formal certification action for the upcoming certification meeting the following Monday, after staff completes post-election checks.","At a board meeting that included a required pre-certification review, new members of the DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections were sworn in by Probate Court Chief Judge Hargrove. The board unanimously approved the agenda, elected Carly Swift chair unanimously and elected Vasu Abiraman vice chair by a 4–1 vote.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6509963,"DeKalb elections staff report no precinct discrepancies in PSC District 3 runoff pre-certification review",116,1624000,1740000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5418386-2aba959363e44060d48739fded14b4fb&start=1624&end=1740","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5418386-2aba959363e44060d48739fded14b4fb/thumbnail_1624000.jpg","/articles/6509963/DeKalb-County/Georgia/DeKalb-elections-staff-report-no-precinct-discrepancies-in-PSC-District-3-runoff-pre-certification-review","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6509963-0687f10f16c51ed8f6b35d3983b93b69/orig.mp4?Expires=1770609407&Signature=iMwPdzv8zjdtVFVdk7GyclNvpJCBGHtandd8nO308~gtlrvgIgJDS0kP~gDw-~t0TlKo9ZGsvkp4Stp-0c3oh-AwQWFf6Y~tOZqWEZUWE0WVs4K1iUmbaSaI0YoDjdyURq~OJnIZG1i2WN1hI-wjRyNQIsMKfR55ejgHB9Mr0WoSCWC1MljhR799bAIOXfw~LDVLhXrRhGteN05sbEyRQPioBKHw4l3ofiz9tXkrkaa8QZDfBgmXpRw29dr9NpGZiqcgMKlPqUwPXU1LPjRl8IldyoKaPcdWJWgmgFtQjokL-Y1WwvHSV3a~vFwF6ewBIL6-hXiYBoaAi~2L1z4ozQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Ms. Smith, the elections office executive director, presented the board with the unofficial and incomplete pre-certification report for the special PSC District 3 Democratic runoff and reported that staff found no precinct-level discrepancies between ballots cast and unique voter credits.

“On election day, 18,679; advanced voting, we processed 5,347; and absentee by mail, we received 172,” Ms. Smith said, summarizing the report. She also said the total ballots cast in the election were 24,198. The report the staff compiled and distributed in the board packet compared precinct tabulation totals to unique voter IDs and covered the precinct-by-precinct returns across pages 3 through 8 of the packet.

Ms. Smith said the review was conducted in accordance with State Elections Board Rule 180-3-1-.12, which requires a post‑Election Day review of precinct returns. “I am pleased to report…there were no discrepancies,” she said, referring to the matching of ballot counts and voter credits.

Board members asked clarifying questions about data sources. Ms. Smith explained that the number of ballots cast comes from the tabulation performed on election night; the voter credits come from poll pads and the ePulse system for in-person voting or were entered into Jarvis for absentee ballots. When asked whether the staff looks for duplicate names or IDs, Ms. Smith confirmed that the review would reflect duplications in the report if present and that this election showed no precinct with more ballots than voters.

The board was not asked to take action at this meeting on certification; Ms. Smith said staff would continue resolving any remaining issues and return for formal certification on the scheduled date.

The report thanked poll workers and elections staff for their work on canvassing and return reconciliation.","Elections staff reported to the DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections that the pre-certification review of the special PSC District 3 Democratic runoff showed matching ballot counts and voter credits across precincts; the report identified 24,198 ballots cast overall with no precinct-level discrepancies.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Poll workers and party leaders urge training and raise SB 189, ADA and voter-roll concerns during DeKalb elections public comment

DeKalb County elections board members sworn in; Carly Swift chosen chair, Vasu Abiraman elected vice chair

DeKalb elections staff report no precinct discrepancies in PSC District 3 runoff pre-certification review