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Cobb County election board re-certifies PSC District 3 Republican result after one-ballot absentee error
Summary
At a June 26 special meeting, the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration unanimously re-certified the May 19 primary result for Public Service Commissioner District 3 after staff found one absentee-by-mail ballot had been inadvertently omitted; the board approved the re-certification 4–0 with one member absent.
The Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration voted on June 26 to re-certify the May 19 primary result for Public Service Commissioner District 3 after election staff found one absentee-by-mail ballot had been inadvertently omitted from the original tally.
Director Phillips told the board the office identified a single absentee-by-mail ballot discrepancy that resulted from human error during processing and that the ballot has since been accounted for and included in the revised totals. "The ballot had been inadvertently omitted from the original tally," Director Phillips said, describing the office's reconciliation steps.
The office reported that, in the review, Brandon Martin's absentee-by-mail total for the recount was 371 compared with 370 on the original May 19 tally, representing the one-ballot discrepancy. Provisionals were unchanged, staff said. The transcript contains formatting errors for some other totals; staff displayed the reconciliation for board review and confirmed the revised results reflect all ballots cast in the contest.
A board member asked whether the discrepancy resulted from a scanner jam; staff said this particular discrepancy was not caused by a precinct scanner jam but by a missed/dismissed ballot during processing. Board members also asked about a Secretary of State request to rescan Marietta 3A; staff said that after reconciliation they deleted one batch for Marietta 3A and rescanned and re-uploaded that batch following the Secretary of State's guidance.
A board member responded, "It sounds like our validation processes are working," and Director Phillips commended staff for catching and correcting the issue. After discussion, the board approved a motion to re-certify the May 19, 2026 general primary PSC District 3 Republican contest; no opposition was voiced and the motion passed. The board announced its next meeting for July 13 at 3 p.m. in the Board of Commissioners room at 100 Cherokee Street and adjourned at 3:08 p.m.
