Fulton County keeps two advanced-voting sites for Aug. 26 special election; department flags poll‑pad 'dongle' delays and printing timeline

Fulton County election officials told the Board of Registration and Elections on July 17 that they will maintain two advanced‑voting sites for the Aug. 26 special election for State Senate District 21 and are taking steps to address equipment and documentation issues ahead of that vote.

Director Williams, head of the Fulton County Department of Registration and Elections, said the department rescinded a request to reduce early‑voting locations to one and will keep both Milton Library and Alpharetta Library as advanced‑voting sites for the special election. She said the department will attempt budget cuts elsewhere but may request additional funds from the Fulton County Board of Commissioners if savings are insufficient.

The decision matters because the special election was not originally on the Secretary of State’s calendar and therefore was not included in the department’s budget planning. Maintaining two sites preserves voter access in the northern part of the county but could increase costs that the department said it will try to absorb before asking commissioners for supplemental funding.

Board members also discussed operational follow up: Director Williams said certification documents for the most recent election will be ready for the board’s review either tomorrow or Monday, and the department confirmed preparations for an August special election are underway. “We had a very successful election with little to no issues, for the June and July election,” Director Williams said.

On documentation, board members asked for printed copies of division‑level standard operating procedures (SOPs) in addition to the electronic files already shared. Counsel and staff told the board they will provide access to the shared electronic folder and produce two hard copies for board members who requested them.

Ralph O’Connor, a Fulton County voter and an Election Day poll clerk, addressed the board during public comment and disputed a claim made at the June 12 meeting that Fulton’s voter rolls had not been cleaned in at least five years. O’Connor cited the May 2025 Operations Report, saying it shows voters transferred out and hundreds of removals for death and duplicates. “Page 8 of the May 2025 Operations Report covering registration activity for May 1 to May 30 says, among other things, 297 voters transferred from Fulton County,” O’Connor said.

Staff briefed the board on a technical issue at polling places: a loose encoder dongle attached to the poll‑pad caused check‑in delays at some locations. Member Crawford described a personal experience of waiting about 10 minutes before staff switched her to another check‑in unit. Director Williams said the loose connection delays processing and that the department will order three different dongle types to test which fits best before making a bulk purchase. “So what we’re gonna do is order maybe three different types, see which one fits better, and then we will go ahead and get a bulk order of that,” Director Williams said.

The board approved routine business during the meeting: an amended agenda and minutes for June 12, June 17, June 20, and June 23 were approved (see Actions below). The board also confirmed advanced‑voting hours for the two locations will remain Monday–Friday 9 a.m.–6 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m.–5 p.m., with no Sunday voting.

Less urgent operational items noted during the meeting included how many printed sets of documents would be produced (two) and the department’s plan to attempt internal budget reductions before seeking additional funds from the Board of Commissioners.

Ending: The board will review certification documents when they are delivered, continue preparing for the August special election, and expect department staff to report back on the dongle testing and any budget requests relating to the additional early‑voting site.