Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Voter Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents and poll managers urge DeKalb elections board for more voter education and warn of proposed QR-code ban and mid-cycle redistricting
Summary
Multiple public commenters and poll managers praised election staff but urged more voter education (including sample ballots), warned that Senate Bill 189's QR-code ban and a special legislative redistricting session could disrupt local voting operations, and suggested mailing voter guides and sample ballots.
Several residents and poll managers used the public-comment period to both thank elections staff and press the board to expand voter education and outreach ahead of the June 16 runoff and the November cycle.
Cheryl Deadly opened public comment by thanking "the bravest people in the world... the poll managers and workers" and said it was “disconcerting” that some people have tried to intimidate voters with signs and other actions. "It's getting a little disconcerting that some folks on the other side want to claim otherwise," she said, urging officials to protect voting access.
Janet Grant, who identified herself as an area poll manager, praised staffing and training and urged ample early voting for the runoff. She warned that a recently introduced bill—referred to in testimony as Senate Bill 189—would outlaw the use of QR codes as of July 1 and said a hurried implementation would create "absolute chaos in the polls" without delay or a funded transition plan.
Other speakers—including Kipley Carr, Betsy Shackelford and Michael Beach—urged better voter education about the nonpartisan ballot and suggested broader outreach. Carr said the final voter interaction at the scanner should be positive and asked the board to emphasize customer service during briefings. Betsy Shackelford said repeated explanation of the nonpartisan ballot was needed to avoid voter confusion, and Michael Beach praised the department's new online training and recommended the board push back on extreme redistricting or QR-code changes at the state level.
Several board members and staff discussed voter-education options. Dr. Harris said staff is drafting a voter guide and sample ballot for November and proposed allowing local candidates to submit statements (a draft policy would cap statements at 300 words). Staff also described outreach for a July 28 congressional special election that would include an every-household mailer and town halls in CD13 to explain overlapping July and November elections.
Commenters and board members repeatedly raised a practical question: how to get sample ballots to voters. Board members discussed the cost and logistics of mailing sample ballots countywide and whether targeted mailings or in-person distribution at early-voting sites would be preferable.
The board did not adopt a countywide sample-ballot mailing at the meeting; staff said they will draft a voter guide and proposed policy on candidate statements for later board approval.
