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Residents oppose outsourcing absentee‑ballot processing; commissioners keep work in‑house
Summary
After multiple public commenters opposed contracting Fort Orange Press to process absentee mail ballots, the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners voted 4‑0 to decline the contract and approved paying overtime and hiring temporary workers to process absentee ballots in‑house for 2024.
Several Whitfield County residents spoke at the Feb. 12 Board of Commissioners meeting urging that absentee‑by‑mail ballot processing remain under local control rather than outsourced.
Speakers at the public comment period included Stacey Doran, Eddie Caldwell, Debra Gordon, Charlene Caldwell, Joe Hommrich, Harvey Wysong and Tim Daniel, who expressed opposition to contracting with Fort Orange Press to prepare and process absentee ballots for the county’s 2024 elections. The minutes record multiple public commenters objecting to outsourcing the work.
Following those comments, the Board of Commissioners declined the Board of Elections supervisor’s request to contract with Fort Orange Press and instead approved a motion, carried 4‑0, to pay overtime to county Board of Elections employees and to allow hiring temporary workers to handle the high volume of absentee requests.
Board of Elections supervisor Shaynee Bryson had requested the outside contract, but the commissioners indicated a preference to retain processing in‑house after hearing from several members of the public. The board’s decision preserves absentee‑ballot handling within county staff while adding temporary capacity.
The board recorded the motion as approved 4‑0; the minutes do not include verbatim quotes from the public commenters. The Board’s next meeting was scheduled for March 4, 2024.
