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Commission adopts ordinance creating Cusseta‑Chattahoochee Board of Elections
Summary
The Unified Government of Cusseta‑Chattahoochee County adopted a home‑rule ordinance adding a three‑member Board of Elections and Registration to the county charter to assume duties of the election superintendent and board of registrars beginning Jan. 1, 2025.
The Cusseta‑Chattahoochee County Commission on Nov. 12 adopted a home‑rule ordinance to add a three‑member Board of Elections and Registration to the county charter, moving election‑management duties from the probate court’s election superintendent to a local board starting Jan. 1, 2025.
The ordinance (listed in the minutes as Ordinance No. 2024‑A) adds Article V, Chapter 2 to the charter and lays out appointments, term lengths and responsibilities. The board will be composed of three county electors appointed by the Board of Commissioners; the ordinance provides initial staggered terms and four‑year terms thereafter. It gives the new board the powers of the election superintendent for primaries and elections and the duties of a board of registrars for voter registration and absentee ballots.
Under the ordinance the board will organize itself, elect officers annually, adopt bylaws and meet monthly; it must comply with state open‑meetings and open‑records laws. The text requires the board to recommend one to three candidates for an elections supervisor to the county manager, who will hire the supervisor as a county employee; the county manager may accept or reject the board’s recommendations. The ordinance authorizes the board, with county approval, to expend funds on voter information materials and sets compensation to be fixed by the board with Board of Commissioners approval.
During the meeting Commissioner Jason Frost moved to approve the ordinance on second reading; Commissioner Gerald Douglas seconded. The minutes record the vote as unanimous. The ordinance text included an instruction that it takes effect on adoption and upon filing with the Georgia Secretary of State.
The change implements requirements in O.C.G.A. § 21‑2‑40.1 directing counties in which the probate judge serves as election superintendent to create boards of elections by state deadlines. County documents attached to the minutes include the full ordinance text and an exhibit detailing board composition, appointment procedures and administrative provisions.
The commission added appointments of three prospective board members for later action at the Dec. 3 meeting during a Nov. 25 work session; commissioners discussed staggered terms, training and potential per‑meeting compensation for board service.
