By Mark Woolsey

Cobb County Elections Director Tate Fall will not be returning to her duties.

Fall is currently on a leave of absence, and a news release dated Sept. 3 says she has informed the county’s Board of Elections and Voter Registration of her impending departure and that she intends to work on ensuring a smooth transition.

No exact date was specified, but the release said her leave expires ‘toward the end of the year.” No reason was given for her departure.

The elections board named Michael D’Itri as acting director. He’ll serve until a permanent replacement is found.

Cobb elections officials have been involved in multiple controversies over the office’s handling of ballots, and  a spat over leadership of the board developed along party lines last month.

Fall is still listed as the elections director on the Cobb County website. She began as elections director in December of 2023.

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: