Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration issues statement on State Board of Elections investigation

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Posted By: Larry Felton Johnson December 4, 2022

Cobb County Board of Elections and Resignation issued the following statement about the State Board of Elections’ investigation into the problems with the county’s absentee ballot process over the course of the primary and U.S. senate runoff election:

The Cobb Board of Elections is aware of and will cooperate with the State Board of Elections’ investigations into the County’s absentee ballot processes. When litigation was initiated related to absentee ballot ​distribution during the general election and absentee ballot application processing for the runoff, our attorneys worked with the plaintiffs to ​reach an agreement on the terms of consent orders to ensure voters that requested absentee ballots received one and would have their vote counted.

Voting by absentee ballot has become increasingly popular, with Cobb County issuing more absentee ballots than any county in the state during the runoff. Our office and other elections offices across the state face challenges created by this increased demand and the reduced timelines for absentee ballot processing and distribution​ mandated under SB202.  The Cobb Board of Elections and Registration is committed to reviewing and updating our processes and procedures following the December 6 runoff and ​will incorporate any findings from state officials into our review and updates.

Background

The following is an excerpt from a previous article from the Courier:

Cobb County Superior Court Judge Kellie Hill issued an order extending the acceptance date for absentee ballots for the December 6 runoff for voters who had absentee ballot requests accepted on or before November 26, 2022.

Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had filed a legal action in Superior Court late last night requesting the extension.

According to the notice posted on the Cobb County website, “This was a consent order between the ACLU and Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration, citing a “confluence of deadlines,” including a holiday, a new state statute, and the Thanksgiving holiday that led to a delay in sending out some absentee ballots.”

The order allows voters who had an absentee ballot request accepted on or before November 26, 2022 to return those ballots to the elections office by December 9, 2022.