Audit: Fulton's handling of 2008 election did not comply with state law

By Rhonda Cook

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Fulton County’s handling of last year’s election did not comply with state law and was a “back room debacle,” and changes must be made immediately, according to an auditor’s report.

Attorney Norman Underwood -- whom the state Election Board assigned to audit Fulton’s elections office and how it handled voting last year -- wrote in his report that changes must be made “without delay in order for the 2009 election to be conducted without a recurrence of the back office problems that plagued the 2008 general election.”

He said Fulton election officials had acknowledged last year’s election was best "characterized as a ‘back office debacle’ involving [the] processing of new voter registration applications and absentee ballots.”

Barry Garner, who became director of elections in Fulton on July 8, said lessons were learned and “we have put procedures in place.”

On Nov. 3, Atlanta and seven other cities in Fulton County will be electing mayors and city council members. Garner said historically turn out is about 35 percent for municipal elections but he was planning as if every voter comes to the polls.

Garner said county workers and temporary staff had received better training for their assignments during  early voting, which starts Monday, and on election day. He also said communication between the different teams within the office had been modified and that should provide for a smoother operation. He will ask for additional scanners to tabulate paper ballots but those machines, if approved, will not be available for this year's election.

“We are working hard to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Garner said Friday.

In 2008, Fulton was the last county in the state to report election returns; counting was completed the Saturday after election day on preceding Tuesday.

There were extraordinarily long lines for early voting, which was the case in other counties.  Fulton County did not mail some absentee ballots in time for those votes to be cast.  A shortage of counters and a faulty work flow plan slowed the counting of paper absentee and provisional ballots.

Underwood wrote the 2008 general election will be remembered as one that "did not meet the legal requirements for ... Georgia elections and must not be repeated in any future elections.”

Underwood’s report said Fulton County:

-- Failed to prepare for the large numbers of voters.

-- Used too many inadequately-trained temporary workers.

-- Pulled experienced election workers from their assignments  processing voter registration applications and mailing absentee ballots to help at early voting sites staffed by temporary workers. That caused a backlog processing voter registration applications and requests for absentee ballots.

-- Didn’t have enough scanners for the number absentee ballots.

-- Did not mail absentee ballots on time.

“There is no practical way to know how many Fulton County voters, who requested absentee ballots, ultimately did not vote," Underwood wrote. "It is reasonable to infer that some voters were simply unsuccessful in their attempt to cast an absentee ballot and probably did not vote on election day.”