Burke County commissioners voted to authorize the county Board of Elections to conduct the City of Keeseville’s upcoming November election and to allow the chairman to sign an intergovernmental agreement enabling that work. Brandon Garrett, supervisor of elections, told the commission Keeseville already handled candidate qualification at city hall and that ballots are ready to be formatted.
The agreement matters because Georgia law requires the county be reimbursed for all costs the county incurs while conducting a municipality’s election; the Board of Elections must calculate the total cost and invoice the city. Commissioners discussed how to minimize the expense to smaller municipalities by coordinating early voting locations.
Garrett said the additional county cost for this November will be minimal because the statewide Public Service Commission election overlaps with the city vote and the county must already order ballots and staffing. For future standalone city elections, he said, experience with Waynesboro shows a typical cost “around $10,000 per election,” with most expense coming from the early‑voting period. Garrett said city elections commonly use one week of early voting, while state elections require three weeks; combining early voting sites can cut equipment and poll‑worker costs.
Commissioners discussed logistics and funding. One commissioner recommended specifying the county location for early voting so the county would not have to open multiple early‑voting sites. Garrett said ballots were being held by the Secretary of State’s ballot team until Tuesday to allow time to finalize the agreement and send ballots to the printer.
Commissioners also agreed to hold a meeting in December (a tentative date of Dec. 8 was discussed) with elected officials and election staff from county towns to standardize processes and reduce costs across Burke County. The motion to authorize the agreement was made by Commissioner Bridal, seconded by Commissioner Kelly, and carried after an all‑in‑favor voice vote.
The discussion distinguished temporary, election‑specific arrangements now — including the November plan and ballot deadlines — from longer‑term budget and funding questions, which commissioners said would be handled in discussions with the county manager and through invoicing the city after costs are finalized.
The vote authorizing the chairman to sign the intergovernmental agreement was the formal action taken; no additional funding action was taken at the meeting.