The State Election Board on Thursday approved a settlement that ends some of the legal trouble stemming from Fulton County’s botched elections.
The county admitted that state has substantial evidence that it committed 30 violations of state law during 2008 and 2012 elections. Under the consent order, the county will pay $180,000 in civil penalties and investigation costs.
Secretary of State Brian Kemp praised Fulton election officials for agreeing to make changes he hopes will prevent a replay of the problems. But he said the size of the fine “accurately reflects the seriousness of the issues and lets everyone know that violations of state election law will not be tolerated.”
Fulton officials expressed confidence they’ll be prepared for next year’s presidential election, when a big turnout may provide the first major test of recent reforms.
“It means a lot to be able to address the 2016 presidential election with a clean slate,” said Mary Carole Cooney, chair of the Fulton Board of Registration and Elections.
Most of the violations outlined in the settlement agreement stem from the 2012 general election, when about 9,600 voters had to cast provisional ballots because their names didn't appear on registration lists at the polls. An investigation by the Secretary of State's Office found the county failed to hire enough data-entry workers to handle voter registrations in the weeks leading up to the election.
That led to chaos at some polling locations. Among other things, the settlement says the county improperly rejected the ballots of 11 eligible voters and mishandles hundreds of ballots.
Since then, the county has expanded early voting in an effort to relieve pressure on polling places on Election Day. It also has upgraded training for poll workers and is buying new election management software.
“I think we’re in a good place now,” Fulton Elections Director Rick Barron said after Thursday’s vote.
Though the settlement ends the state's investigation, Fulton still faces a lawsuit filed by a former election director who say she was fired for refusing to cover up issues that led to problems at the polls.
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