Elections director reports turnout gains, announces deputy director position and staffing plans

Clarke County’s elections director delivered the April activity report May 19, reporting 80,774 eligible voters (72,137 active; 8,637 inactive) and 84 voter-roll cancellations in April (including 46 deceased and 10 felony removals). The director also said the office received one open-records request in April and that the year-to-date total for voter ID requests is 18.

On ballots and turnout, staff reported 12,475 advanced votes and a corrected absentee-ballot receipt count of 716; as of 2:00 p.m. election-day voting totaled 5,945, giving a running combined total of 19,106 ballots. The director said those numbers put turnout near 24% of eligible voters as of midafternoon, exceeding 2022’s 22% figure. The director noted a likely runoff on June 16 and offered an advanced-voting schedule proposal tied to ballot-building and logic-and-accuracy testing timelines.

The director announced a new deputy elections director position has been posted and will be interviewed May 21; the election assistant vacancy (the director’s prior post) will be posted after May 19. Staff said managers and assistants were rotated during recent advanced voting to ease long consecutive shifts for poll managers; staff warned that extended multi-day 12-hour schedules can stretch workers thin and increase error risk.

Staff also reminded the board of two Friday meetings related to certification: a mandatory pre-certification check at 3:00 p.m. and a certification meeting at 5:30 p.m., required so staff can review preliminary results and cure provisional ballots before final certification.