Burke County commissioners voted to authorize an intergovernmental agreement allowing the county Board of Elections to administer the City of Keeseville’s municipal election in November. The board approved a motion to permit the county chairman to sign the agreement after hearing from elections staff about timing and likely costs.

The agreement covers the county conducting Keeseville’s election under Georgia law and specifies the county must be fully reimbursed for all expenses. Supervisor of Elections Brandon Garrett told commissioners that Keeseville conducted candidate qualification at City Hall and that “they've got their ballot ready to be formed.” He also said the county had to order ballots and related supplies and that the Secretary of State’s office was holding the county’s ballots through Tuesday to allow time to finalize the agreement.

The vote is the most immediate outcome of several logistical questions commissioners raised about how to keep costs down. Garrett said costs for a city election typically depend on the length of early voting: a single-city election often requires one week of early voting, while a statewide contest triggers a three-week early-voting period. He said Waynesboro’s recent city elections have cost about $10,000 per election when the county provided services, with most of that cost coming from paying poll workers during early voting.

Commissioners discussed concentrating early voting at the county office to avoid running two separate early-voting sites and to split poll-worker costs when multiple municipalities hold elections in the same period. Garrett and staff proposed a December 8 meeting with municipal clerks from towns across Burke County to discuss a more uniform approach to future local elections.

Commissioner Bridal moved to authorize the county elections supervisor and the chairman to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Keeseville; Commissioner Kelly seconded the motion. The motion carried on a voice vote.

The agreement allows Keeseville to contract with the Board of Elections to run its election, and the county will bill Keeseville for the county’s total costs after the election. Commissioners did not set a separate prepayment requirement; staff noted that with Waynesboro the county billed after the election when final costs were known.

Details the board asked staff to clarify include an itemized estimate of expected costs for Keeseville’s November election, how early-voting days will be scheduled if Keeseville opts for a shorter period, and the logistics for sharing early-voting teams across municipalities. Commissioners said they expect to revisit those operational and funding details at the planned December meeting with municipal clerks.