Thread by @weareoversight

In Georgia, several counties have tried to restructure their local election boards to give partisan actors control over election administration. Some have warned that these measures could suppress access to voting. americanoversight.org/emails-from-sp…

This week, we’re highlighting emails we uncovered that show the backlash among county election officials to these measures.

First, here’s what emails from Spalding County reveal.

In April, Georgia passed H.B. 769 which changed the county’s Board of Elections — which leaned Democratic — by replacing the board’s fifth member with an appointee selected by a majority of county judges.

Spring 2021 emails from Spalding County show officials expressed concern and frustration about this law, saying they felt blindsided by its sudden development.

“To our knowledge, no one on this Board was involved with this legislation,” County Clerk Kathy Gibson said on April 9, prior to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature, in response to an email from a journalist.

“The Spalding County Board of Commissioners did not request any legislation with regard to the Elections Office,” Gibson wrote. “We learned about the legislation through an email...advising there was legislation on the floor that would have an effect on our County.”

Emails also reveal election officials’ displeasure with the bill. “I am sorry that you have created this piece of legislation to try to punish our local elections board and supervisor for the Republican loss in both November and January,” wrote one Spalding County poll manager.

Board of Elections member Margaret Bentley wrote to legislators, urging them to halt the bill: “Spalding County Board of Elections has been under attack since 2017 when an African American was selected as Election Supervisor,” Bentley said.

She added: “This Bill is an attempt to change the composition of the Board of Elections and to remove the Elections Supervisor and three board members who happen to be African American.”

We’ll post more about what we’ve uncovered in other Georgia counties later this week.

Learn more about our ongoing investigation here:
americanoversight.org/investigation/…