There’s more at stake in next week’s election for Fulton County than the outcome of municipal races.
The 2023 election is the first use of the county’s new centralized election headquarters, and the light turnout expected amounts to a trial run for the much bigger and higher-stakes elections in 2024 — when local, state and national races will all be on the ballot, including the presidency.
The workflow, merged from three previous sites, is already going much better, said Nadine Williams, director of Fulton’s Department of Registration & Elections.
“All of our divisions being under one roof has really been helpful,” she said.
That’s of crucial importance for Fulton, the state’s most populous county, with more than 1 million people. The Democratic margin of nearly 2-to-1 in Fulton was vital in delivering Georgia’s electoral votes for President Joe Biden, drawing persistent accusations of fraud and mismanagement from supporters of former President Donald J. Trump.
Multiple inquiries found no substantial fraud, but did turn up dysfunction in the election system — predominantly human error, though nothing that would have changed the final results. Since then, the county has worked to improve its election-management process, and the centralized warehouse is a big part of that.
Activities now underway are “roughly the same” as will be used next year, Williams said.
“It’ll just be on a bigger scale in 2024,” she said.
Fulton County is managing the Nov. 7 municipal elections — including runoffs if needed — in 12 of the county’s 15 cities: Alpharetta, Atlanta, Chattahoochee Hills, College Park, East Point, Fairburn, Hapeville, Johns Creek, Mountain Park, Roswell, South Fulton and Union City. Those cities will reimburse the county for the estimated $5.5 million cost.
Milton is running its own election, but will lease state-owned voting equipment from the county. Palmetto is managing its own election and Sandy Springs doesn’t have one this year.
There are 34 offices up for grabs plus a few local ballot questions: boards of education, municipal judge, city councils and mayors, according to the county’s official ballot.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Early voting started Oct. 16 and will end Friday. There are 16 early voting locations, most of them specific to cities, but also in the Fulton County Government Center at 141 Pryor St. SW.
There is an early voting site at the new warehouse, but it’s not open for this election, Williams said. She hopes to get state approval for that in 2024, when the county wants to have 40 early voting locations — the most ever.
Williams urged voters to check the county election website for any updates such as voting location changes, and also visit the Secretary of State’s office elections page.
Following the 2020 election, the county wanted not just more efficiency, but more transparency and better security for elections, County Manager Dick Anderson has said.
Previously, election functions have been scattered between two warehouses and a downtown office. In 2020, the county had to rent an extra 200,000 square feet for ballot counting at the Georgia World Congress Center for more than a million dollars.
Changes to voting systems also required more personnel and resources, according to the county.
Planning for a centralized election headquarters started nearly three years ago as part of the county’s ongoing efforts to consolidate operations, but the project was delayed by COVID-19.
The new center — a 600,000-square-foot warehouse at 5600 Campbellton Fairburn Road in Union City, dubbed the Fulton County Elections Hub & Operations Center — opened over the summer.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
It has room to store, program and test election equipment; and accommodate the hundreds of workers needed on a major election night. A huge open area will allow for hand-counting ballots if needed; there are cameras throughout and the public will be able to watch from a fenced-off viewing area.
The county invested $29 million in improvements, furniture and fixtures, and is paying $3.9 million a year to lease the building from the Union City Development Authority. The lease runs for 15 years, with two five-year renewals and an option for the county to buy it.
Elections occupies the most space, but the building also holds offices for many other county departments and can serve as an emergency operations center if the county building in downtown Atlanta is unusable.
