After several tumultuous elections and months of increased scrutiny, the Fulton County elections department has found itself at the center of controversy again. In the latest episode, two elections workers were fired on allegations that they shredded 300 voter applications that came in over the course of the last two weeks.
Fulton County Registration and Elections Director Richard Barron announced the termination of the two employees and has also referred the actions of the two employees to the Office of Investigations within the Secretary of State’s Office.
Upon learning of the matter, Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts immediately reported it to the office of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for investigation.
“Elections are the most important function of our government,” said Pitts. “We have committed to transparency and integrity.”
According to county elections officials, a preliminary review suggests the two employees may have checked out batches of applications for processing. Instead of fully processing them, in some instances the employees allegedly shredded some of the forms.
The applications that were shredded were for the upcoming city elections that will be taking place in November.
Fellow employees reported this behavior to their supervisor on Friday morning and the employees were terminated the same day.
Any Fulton County resident who has questions may contact the Fulton County Department of Registration & Elections at 404-612-7030. Anyone who attempts to vote in an upcoming election who is found not to be registered will be able to vote on a provisional ballot, and further investigation will follow.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger responded by calling for the Department of Justice to investigate the incident.
“After 20 years of documented failure in Fulton County elections, Georgians are tired of waiting to see what the next embarrassing revelation will be,” Raffensperger said. “The Department of Justice needs to take a long look at what Fulton County is doing and how their leadership disenfranchises Fulton voters through incompetence and malfeasance. The voters of Georgia are sick of Fulton County’s failures.”
Raffensperger is also participating in a review under Georgia’s new election law that could lead to a replacement of the leadership of Fulton County’s elections.
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