DALLAS, Ga. — Deidre Holden is the cheerful, but determined, longtime director of elections in Paulding County. She grew up here, married her high school sweetheart and raised her children here. Her grandchildren, who live nearby, call her “Weezer.”
But the small-town charm of Dallas has not made it, nor Holden, immune to something much darker since the 2020 election — suspicion, accusations and threats of violence against the county’s election staff, all based on former President Donald Trump’s false insistence that the election in Georgia was rigged against him.
“Everybody got so mad in 2020 because the election did not go the way that everybody was expecting it to go and it’s like they can’t get past it,” Holden said. “That created so much distrust in elections that it created a picture of brokenness in elections, and that is the furthest thing from the truth.”
Paulding is, and was, a Trump stronghold. The former president won the county in 2020 by more than 30 points over Joe Biden, but Trump’s continued insistence that the vote was rigged against him has hurt election officials, even where he’s still supported the most.
“I think he’s a wonderful person, but I don’t really think he understands the influence he has over people,” Holden said. “And some people that he influences are a little bit more radical, and they’re the ones sending the emails, and they’re the ones making the threats. That needs to stop. We need to be united.”
One of the worst threats in Paulding came in the days before the 2021 U.S. Senate runoff elections, when an email warned bombs at polling stations “would make the Boston bombing look like child’s play.” Authorities never identified the source of the threat, but they suspected it originated overseas.
“Everybody asks me, ‘Were you afraid?’” she said. “No, I was not afraid. I was mad for some outside actor to try to influence elections in our United States.”
Although that threat was a hoax, the conspiracies and anger around elections continue. To this day, Holden said she moves her car closer to the office door if she knows she’s working late. If she and her husband go out to dinner, they usually leave the county to do it. When she wipes away tears during our interview, she said she worries about the ongoing stress on her staff.
“What breaks my heart is to know that we all live in this country, the most wonderful country in this world, but we’re fighting against each other,” she said.
She remembers a time when elections “used to be the time you saw your neighbors” and there was little drama. Even though that’s all changed since 2020, what hasn’t changed is the meticulous way Holden and her staff run the office.
A typical day starts around 7 a.m., when Holden arrives and sifts through emails and phone calls about anyone in the county who passed away in the past 24 hours.
“I’m a stickler for a clean electors list,” she said. “I don’t want people saying, ‘Oh, they’re letting dead people vote.’ No, not in Paulding County. I promise.”
On election days and during early voting, she then heads out to greet voters at the polling location next door.
“They’re entrusting me and this staff with their vote, and I’m going to take care of that to the very best of my ability. And I want them to know that,” she said.
Next is time for more list maintenance, when Holden checks the probation status of convicted felons who have registered to vote. If their probation has expired and fines have been paid, they’ll be registered for the next election.
The rest of the day is about putting out fires, speaking to reporters, giving tours of the office and attending various election-related meetings. She’s testified at state and federal hearings about election security and processes. She’s spoken to the State Election Board on several occasions.
Credit: Patricia Murphy, AJC
Credit: Patricia Murphy, AJC
A rash of sweeping, last-minute rule changes from the State Election Board were making the job even harder for county election directors this year, she said. Those rules, which were passed over the objections of multiple local election directors, were invalidated by a state judge this week.
Holden was highly critical of the board, which she said has become too political. “Yes, you can be appointed by a political party, but I think when you’re dealing with elections, you need to be bipartisan and set your personal political affiliation aside,” she said.
Early voting in Paulding County this week broke records, just as it did across the state. The percentage of voter turnout was in the high 70s in Paulding for the past two elections. She’d love a 90% turnout this year.
Looking ahead, Holden said she does not expect a repeat of what happened in 2020 following this year’s election. Although she predicted a close election and the expected recounts, Holden said: “We’re stronger because of 2020. We’re prepared.”
As optimistic as she is, the environment around elections and voting in Georgia is still fraught. A man recently came to the office to tell Holden and a staff member that he’d had a vision of something terrible happening to them.
“He said, ‘My spirit tells me something bad’s going to happen here,’” she said. She thanked the man and assured her staff they were prepared for the “what-ifs.”
Even with the scrutiny, the threats, the occasionally angry voters and the truly trying times, Holden said that for her, the good in the role still outweighs the bad. Her office is still festooned with red, white and blue patriotic memorabilia. She is proud to be a public servant.
“When you’re out there and a kid is voting for the first time, and we cheer them on, or if it’s somebody that’s moved to the United States that has gotten their citizenship and they get to vote for the first time, and they’re literally crying and hugging us, that’s what I do my job for,” she said. “That’s what makes it worth it. I’ll take every threat in the world, but that’s what matters to me.”
During election season, the day ends for Holden 10 or 12 hours after she started. She, her staff and election volunteers will be back at work tomorrow. And the day after that.
“I’m at peace,” she said. “I’m a brave woman. And I know who’s got my back.”
