Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Board Organization topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
DeKalb County elections board members sworn in; Carly Swift chosen chair, Vasu Abiraman elected vice chair
Summary
At a board meeting that included a required pre-certification review, new members of the DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections were sworn in by Probate Court Chief Judge Hargrove. The board unanimously approved the agenda, elected Carly Swift chair unanimously and elected Vasu Abiraman vice chair by a 4–1 vote.
Judge Hargrove, chief judge of the probate court of DeKalb County, administered the oath of office to newly appointed members of the DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections, and the board then elected its leadership for the term.
“I am going to ask the board members to stand,” Judge Hargrove said before administering the oath and the loyalty oath that board members are required to take. The gathering included formal recitation of both the duties oath and the loyalty oath.
The swearing-in cleared the way for routine organizational business. The board unanimously approved the meeting agenda after a motion to approve and a second were recorded. The board then nominated and elected Carly Swift as chair by unanimous vote. After the chair election, Vasu Abiraman and Travis Bowden were nominated for vice chair; following votes, Abiraman was elected vice chair by a 4–1 tally. The meeting concluded later with a motion to adjourn that passed unanimously.
Board members present at roll call were Vasu Abiraman, Gail Lee, Travis Bowden, DeLay Lohman and Carly Swift, which the clerk recorded as a quorum.
Swift, newly elected chair of the DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections, said she was “looking forward to a a great and, collaborative term.” The board did not debate policy changes during the organizational motions, which focused on establishing leadership and workflow for upcoming items, including a required pre-certification review of a recent special runoff.
The procedural votes recorded during the meeting included approval of the agenda, election of chair and vice chair, and adjournment. The board announced no objections to the oath documents after Judge Hargrove administered them and recommended the members sign the forms before leaving.
Less formal remarks before and after the organizational votes included brief comments thanking staff and poll workers for recent election work and noting that the pre-certification review would follow.
Votes at a glance
- Motion to approve agenda: moved (motion recorded), seconded by Travis Bowden; outcome: approved (unanimous). - Motion to elect Carly Swift as chair: moved and seconded (recorded in meeting); outcome: approved (unanimous). - Motion to elect Vasu Abiraman as vice chair: motion carried; outcome: approved (4–1). - Motion to adjourn: moved and seconded; outcome: approved (unanimous).
The board scheduled its next formal certification action for the upcoming certification meeting the following Monday, after staff completes post-election checks.
