Charlotte County electoral board closes registrar’s office, places registrar and assistant on administrative leave

The Charlotte County Electoral Board on Wednesday voted to close the county registrar’s office while it seeks guidance from the State Board of Elections and legal counsel, and it placed Registrar Eric Goode and Assistant Registrar Dorothea Knott on administrative leave through Dec. 31, 2021.

Glenwood Foster, the board secretary, moved — and Acting Chair Glenn Baker seconded — an amended motion “that the Registrar’s office be closed until the Board has more information from the State Board of Elections and legal counsel on how to proceed, and also that the Assistant Registrar be put on administrative leave through December 31st, 2021.” The board approved the motion without dissent. Foster later moved, and Baker seconded, that “Registrar Eric Goode be put on administrative leave until the duration of his term ending December 31st 2021, the date his resignation designates as the end of his employment as Registrar for Charlotte County.” That motion also passed without dissent.

The board took the steps after two executive sessions held during the meeting — the first to discuss litigation and the second for personnel matters — and read the certification required under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act when returning to open session.

As additional security and continuity measures, the board voted to change all Electoral Board and Registrar office email addresses, secure existing keys and change or record locks for the Registrar’s office, and require weekly board meetings until the situation at the Registrar’s office is resolved. The board scheduled its next meeting for Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021, at 9:00 a.m. and assigned a set of follow-up tasks, including holding mail, changing the registrar voicemail, obtaining absentee and cured ballot reports, and posting contact information for the board at the Registrar’s office and the County Administration Building.

Public comment at the meeting included concerns about the timing of the registrar’s resignation and certification work. Rebecca Daly said the registrar “should have had certification of candidates done before he resigned.” Dan Witt, Charlotte County’s administrator, told the board he had contacted the Commissioner of the State Board of Elections, the president of VEBA and the governor’s office about the situation and said the county was available to assist in hiring a replacement. The board also heard that the State Department of Elections will conduct a statewide audit of VERIS login records, a point Rebecca Daly raised later in the meeting.

The board did not provide additional public detail about the reasons for the personnel actions during the open meeting; the motions and votes recorded in the minutes say the actions were taken pending further information from state officials and legal counsel. The board said it would continue weekly oversight until the Registrar’s office situation is resolved.

Next steps set by the board include contacting Registrar Eric Goode about returning county property and conducting an inventory and walk-through of the Registrar’s office after the board’s Dec. 22 meeting.