Cobb County elections office reports preliminary totals; risk‑limiting audit set for Feb. 18

Jennifer Mosbacher, vice chair of the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration, opened the board's Feb. 14 pre‑certification meeting and turned the review of election materials to election staff.

Director Fong, the county elections director, told the board that election‑day ballots totaled 5,638, absentee in‑person (AIP) ballots totaled 3,307 and absentee by mail (ABM) ballots totaled 41. The office reported 21 election‑day provisional ballots and one absentee provisional ballot; 18 election‑day provisionals were recorded as out‑of‑precinct. Three provisional voters had until 5 p.m. on election day to provide documentation or identification before those ballots could be counted.

The county’s preliminary full total reported was 8,986 ballots, equal to a 3.74% turnout, a figure Director Fong said could change depending on which provisionals meet the documentation deadline. Final and complete results will be posted after the outstanding provisional ballots are processed and will be certified on Monday following the meeting.

Director Fong also explained a state policy change affecting public access to numbered voter lists generated for AIP voting. “The state is no longer allowing the EPULS AIP numbered list to be public,” Fong said. She said the county will retain a copy for internal use but that the list cannot be shared outside the board and office because, in her words, “if you take the numbered list for AIP, you compare against the CVR. It's very easy to figure out how someone voted because it gives you a check‑in time with their ballot style.”

Fong described how counts can differ within a race between “times cast” and “votes cast,” attributing the difference to blank ballots or, in one case, a withdrawn candidate. “Since [Tanisha Horthy] withdrew, we don't count those ballots. The law tells us to do is they can't be tabulated,” Fong said. The office reported that the discrepancy in that race amounted to 108 entries that are a combination of blank ballots and votes for the withdrawn candidate.

The board was told the county will conduct a risk‑limiting audit (RLA) on Tuesday, Feb. 18, beginning at 10:30 a.m. and continuing as needed through 5 p.m. The director said two teams will be involved and each party may designate two representatives to observe the audit.

Director Fong reviewed additional reports placed on the board’s flash drives, including the statement of votes cast and an election summary report. She noted a single provisional ABM ballot had been given voter credit but not yet scanned into the election management system, which is why one list showed 42 ABM credits while another showed 41.

Board members offered brief comments of thanks to staff for administering the election. Mosbacher confirmed the next board meeting will be Monday, Feb. 17, at 3 p.m. in the BFC Room at 100 Cherokee Street. The meeting was adjourned at 3:14 p.m.

Votes recorded at the meeting: the board moved and seconded approval of the meeting agenda and approved it by voice vote; specific yea/nay counts were not given on the record.