During the public comment portion of this morning’s Cobb County Board of Commissioners meeting, Stacy Efrat, the Vice Chair of the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration, made two requests to the BOC she said would support accessibility of the election process for Cobb residents.
The first was to continue to allow the elections board to take public comments virtually.
“I would like to speak today about voters’ accessibility,” Efrat said. “Normally, when we talk about accessibility, we are speaking of how easy it is for someone to cast a vote.”
“But a voter’s ability to access our board and voice their concerns is another critical form of access,” she said. “We invite anyone from the public to attend our meetings, either in person or virtually, and make comments to put their ideas on the record.”
“Our board believes it is critical to make these opportunities accessible,” she said.
“We are privileged in this county to have technology that allows us not only to livestream meetings, but also to hear comments virtually from those unable to come in person,” Efrat said. “There are so many reasons why someone may not be able to attend a meeting in person, such as their job schedule, caring for young children, or having physical disabilities.”
“Just as we offer absentee voting for those who can’t vote in person, we have offered virtual comments for those who have something to say but can’t attend in person,” she said.
“We learned a couple weeks ago that the county leadership will no longer provide support for virtual public comments at our Board of Elections meetings,” Efrat said.
“I’m here to ask that you reconsider that decision and allow us to provide access to all Cobb residents to participate and share their thoughts with us.”
The second issue brought up by Efrat was the meeting schedule. She said that the 3 p.m. meetings precluded residents who work during the day, or who have to pick up children from school.
“Our board has asked county leadership to allow us to meet in the evenings so that more members from our community can attend,” she said. “We can continue to meet in this room, or we can find an alternate location that provides appropriate technology and security.”
“Up until now, county leadership has not been willing to support this change,” Efrat said.
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