Chatham County changes election leaders weeks ahead of midterms
SAVANNAH ― The elections office of one of Georgia’s most populous counties is in flux less than two months before a pivotal midterm election.
Chatham County, home to Savannah and the state’s fifth-highest number of registered voters, has hired retired elections supervisor Billy Wooten on an interim basis to conduct the Nov. 3 general election following the sudden resignation of Brook Schreiner, who quit last week when she learned the five-member Board of Elections intended to fire her.
Schreiner’s short tenure was marked by friction with others involved in Chatham’s elections apparatus.
Schreiner voiced confidence in the elections staff, calling them “amazing,” and said they will do “everything correctly” on Election Day.
Tom Mahoney, chairman of the Chatham Board of Elections, said the county elections are “in good hands” for the midterms. Wooten worked 27 years with the county Elections Board and served as supervisor between 2020 and his retirement earlier this year.
“We’re in great shape,” Mahoney said. “The preparations are all well underway and being executed well.”
Chatham voting has been scrutinized in recent election cycles. The county is the largest Democratic voter stronghold outside metro Atlanta, and “Stop the Steal” activists and protesters targeted Chatham following the 2020 presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden.
The losing candidate in that race, President Donald Trump, filed a lawsuit the day after the election alleging mishandling of absentee ballots. A Chatham County judge later dismissed the suit.
The 2020 election led to packed elections board meetings in the years that followed as the General Assembly revised elections laws and the State Elections Board enacted process changes. The public comment periods often turned contentious. In one, Chatham Police removed a resident, with officers physically carrying her out of the room.
That furor waned following the 2024 election, and Wooten announced his retirement plans last October. Schreiner was hired in January. A veteran elections official, she previously served as supervisor in Henry County and Butts County.
Schreiner began to lobby for policy and process changes soon after coming on board in February, with a focus on Chatham’s unusual divide between advance voting practices and Election Day operation. The county is one of two in the state where the Board of Registrars and the Board of Elections are separate entities.
The Board of Registrars handles voter registration but also conducts early in-person voting and absentee balloting. The Board of Elections is tasked with Election Day voting and counting and validating the votes.
The setup results in training differences between those working the polls for advance voting and those manning the precincts on Election Day, Schreiner said.
“It’s a matter of not knowing what one hand does versus the other hand,” she said.
She also noted cost inefficiencies that are passed on to taxpayers, with the two boards maintaining separate boards and staffs. Sabrina German has served as the registrars supervisor since 2016.
Merging the registrars and elections operations has been considered previously. Doing so requires legislation passed by the General Assembly, and a 2021 bill introduced by a Democratic lawmaker, Sen. Lester Jackson, failed. Jackson left office in 2022 to mount an unsuccessful bid for state labor commissioner.
Mahoney, the elections board chairman, said he’s open to merger discussions, but that is not a priority heading into the midterms. Voter turnout is expected to be high, with a U.S. Senate seat and the governor’s post on the ballot, and conducting the election is the focus, he said.