Elections director reports 3,461 ballots cast (3.13% turnout), outlines staffing, site changes and audit date

Elections Director Tate Fall told the Cobb County Board of Elections on March 17 that 3,461 voters cast ballots in the March 11 special primary runoff, a turnout of 3.13 percent. The count included 1,977 ballots cast on election day, 1,443 early in-person votes and 35 absentee-by-mail ballots; six provisional ballots were recorded.

The director said a risk-limiting audit is scheduled for March 18 at 9 a.m. at the elections office and that the audit is open to the public with a designated public viewing area. Fall said the office is finishing payroll for poll workers; once those checks are issued the office will complete a full costing for the election and provide that cost information to the board and to anyone who submits an open-records request.

Fall also briefed the board on staffing and site planning. She reported a 12.5 percent vacancy rate in the elections office as employees shift into supervisory roles after recent retirements and promotions; several recruitments for full- and part-time positions were underway. The office will start logic-and-accuracy testing on March 31 and begin training for the April 29 election on April 7.

On polling sites, Fall said the office is working to reduce the number of school polling locations where students are present. She told the board she met with Cobb County School District Superintendent Ragsdale and county officials; nine active school locations have been identified for vacating beginning with the 2026 election cycle, while 11 active sites will remain because they allow separate entrances and secure access. Fall said the district is asking that a sheriff’s deputy be present for any site still used when school is in session, which increases operational costs and motivates consolidation where possible.

Public commenters raised operational and policy concerns during the meeting. Susie Clark, a poll worker, described one precinct location near Bells Ferry and a church — identified in the meeting as possibly East Piedmont 01 or Shady Grove Baptist Church — where older voters said they feel intimidated walking from upper parking to the polling entrance and by an adjacent unhoused population. Clark said those conditions discourage some older voters from voting in person; Director Fall responded that the location is on the office’s radar and that the office is actively seeking replacement sites and deploys a sheriff’s deputy at that location for opening and closing.

Vietnam-era veteran Hugh Norris used his public comment time to press the board on two matters: he criticized a board member for not standing during the pledge of allegiance and asked what authority the local board has to adopt paper, hand-counted ballots independent of state rules. Director Fall did not commit to a local policy change in response; she outlined the office’s current responsibilities and noted that statewide election calendars and equipment rules are governed by the Georgia Secretary of State.

Another public commenter, Christine Rosman, asked if the office would quantify how much the recent local election logistics cost taxpayers. Fall said the office is completing final payroll for poll workers and that the costing will be provided to the board and to anyone who files an open-records request once payroll checks are issued.

Additional operational details provided by Fall included: the first absentee-by-mail ballots for the April election will mail April 7; the absentee-by-mail application deadline for that election is April 18; the voter-registration deadline for the April election is March 31; and the office has distributed ballot proofs to candidates with a 24-hour proofing window. Fall also said the office will convert one part-time GIS-coded position into a part-time project coordinator focused on project management and data analysis.

The director closed by listing the 2025 election calendar’s remaining dates — April 29, June 17, possible July 15 runoff, Nov. 4 general and municipal elections and a potential Dec. 2 municipal runoff — and said the office is prioritizing consolidated sites and safety measures for the heavier election year ahead.