The Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration meeting was shut down after an audience member shouted “Heil Hitler” on the heels of a public commenter accusing a Democratic board member of being a communist.
The commenter, speaking from the dais, demanded that board member Jennifer Mosbacher recuse herself from board decisions for failing to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance after it was added to the meeting last year.
“Until she explains herself, she must recuse herself on all votes,” The commenter stated. He stated Mosbacher’s “continued presence on this board implicates” board chair Tori Silas and BOC Chairwoman Lisa Cupid.
He also accused Mosbacher of being a communist. After he finished speaking, an audience member shouted, “Heil Hitler!”
Mosbacher stood in anger and stated she would not continue to sit in the meeting unless the person who shouted left the room.
Chairwoman Silas agreed and asked attorney Daniel White whether there was any requirement for the meeting to continue after the disruption.
White said that people were free to make insulting comments from the stand as official commenters but that shouts from the audience were not allowed.
“Your comments are going to be they’re going to expose what people know about you after you say it, so they’ll kind of speak for themselves,” he said. “I need the crowd not to respond during comment, because we need to let people say and if they want to put whatever ignorance on the record, they can put it on the record, and it’ll be on the record.”
“And we don’t need people interrupting in support or against it,” he said. “So let’s just be clear about that. If people want to get up and insult and be derogatory. That’s one thing. But what, what cannot happen is this meeting cannot be interrupted. It cannot stop. It cannot disturb the meeting.”
When the shouter refused to identify himself and leave the room, a motion was made to adjourn the meeting, and it passed with board member Debby Fisher abstaining.
Watch the video of the incident
About the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration
On its web page, the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration describes its mission as follows:
“The mission of the Elections Department is to register citizens of Cobb County to vote; to ensure that elections are free, impartial, fair, accurate, convenient and accessible to all voters; to encourage voter participation; to provide excellent customer service to voters, candidates, and the media; and to help the public understand and follow all laws, rules and regulations.
“The Elections Department, with oversight from the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration, enforces strict adherence to all current Federal, State and Local laws as well as to State Election Board Rules concerning registering to vote and voting, and serves all citizens in election related matters.”
The board has five members, with two appointed by the state legislative delegation, one each appointed by the Cobb Democratic and Republican parties, and one appointed by the Chairwoman of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners.
Since both the majority of the legislative delegation and the BOC chairwomanship is Democratic at this time, appointments by Democrats account for four of the five seats.
Here is the current composition of the board:
| Member | Contact | Appointed by | Term |
| Steven F. Bruning | Steve.Bruning@cobbcounty.org | Legislative Delegation | July 1, 2021 -June 30, 2025 |
| Tori Silas(Chairwoman) | 404-539-0157Tori.Silas@cobbcounty.org | Legislative Delegation | July 1, 2021 -June 30, 2025 |
| Stacy Efrat(Secretary) | Stacy.Efrat@cobbcounty.org | Democratic Party | July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2027 |
| Debbie Fisher(Assistant Secretary) | 404-661-2580Debbie.Fisher@cobbcounty.org | Republican Party | July 1, 2023 -June 30, 2027 |
| Jennifer Mosbacher(Vice Chair) | Jennifer.Mosbacher@cobbcounty.org | Commission Chair | July 1, 2021 -June 30, 2025 |
