OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections Meeting - April 13, 2026

Board of Commissioners & Committees — Monday, April 13, 2026
BodyDekalb County, Georgia
SessionBoard of Commissioners & Committees
DateMonday, April 13, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:27:28

Transcript — Verbatim
0:09

Good afternoon and welcome to today's um Board of Registration and Elections regularly scheduled meeting.

0:16

Can I get the roll call, please?

0:23

No board members.

0:24

When I call your name, please respond by saying here.

0:26

Vasu, Abby Rahman.

0:28

Here.

0:28

Travis Bowden.

0:29

Here.

0:30

Gail Lee here.

0:31

DeLay Loman.

0:32

Here.

0:32

Carly Swift.

0:33

Here.

0:33

Madam Chair, we have a quorum.

0:35

Thank you.

0:35

Can I get a motion to approve the agenda?

0:38

So moved.

0:39

Second.

0:41

And uh all in favor.

0:43

Aye.

0:44

Aye.

0:45

Thank you.

0:46

And um, can I get a motion to approve the February 12th and February 16th minutes?

0:54

If there are no changes, we can approve them in one motion.

0:57

So moved.

0:58

Second.

0:59

Second.

0:59

Can I just note that it's the March?

1:02

It's March.

1:04

March.

1:04

Yeah.

1:05

Thank you.

1:06

So the motion is to approve the March 12th.

1:11

If I may, I'd like to amend my motion to approve these minutes for March 12th and March 16th, 2026.

1:20

Okay.

1:20

And just to confirm, those are the correct dates.

1:24

The actual day.

1:25

Okay.

1:26

All right.

1:28

So we have a motion.

1:29

Was it seconded?

1:30

Second.

1:31

Okay.

1:31

All in favor.

1:32

Aye.

1:33

Aye.

1:33

Okay.

1:34

We are ready for public comment.

1:40

Public comments may be made in person or by submitting an email of one printed page or list in a minimum font of 12 to elections public CCMT at DeCab County GA.gov, which must be received 35 and five minutes to five minutes before the schedule start of the meeting.

1:57

The body of your email must include your first and last name by submitting an email for public comment.

2:02

You agree to have your name and email broadcast on Ustream and entered into the record in minutes.

2:07

The DeCab Board of Registration and Elections reserves the right at the board's sole discretion to add your email to the record or minutes without reading any of it into the broadcast, or read a all or a portion into the of the email into the records or minutes.

2:20

All public comments will be limited to two minutes.

2:22

Abusive, profane, or derogatory language, holding up signs, clapping, yelling, standing, laying in the aisles to show support or opposition for a speaker will not be permitted, but a show of hands or quiet standing in place will be permitted to show your support or opposition for a speaker's position.

2:39

Thank you.

2:40

Janet Grant.

2:46

Thank you.

2:47

My name's Janet Grant, and I'm a resident of Decatur and serve as an area poll manager responsible for the election day polls in the city of Decatur.

2:56

I've been tracking the election-related bills in the Georgia General Assembly this legislative session and was very disappointed that they took no action to address the QR code requirement in Senate Bill 189 that passed in 2024.

3:12

There are now various calls to action, including asking the governor to order a special session and petitions to the state election board to implement changes.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Election Administration█████████████████████████████████████████████58%
Budget Equity Analysis███████████14%
Voter Registration███████9%
Procedural██████8%
Public Engagement████5%
Procurement Policy████5%
Workforce Development█1%
Summary of Proceedings

DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections Meeting - April 13, 2026

The DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections held its regularly scheduled meeting on April 13, 2026, at 5:00 PM. The board unanimously approved the agenda, minutes from March 12 and March 16, 2026, certified the District 94 special election runoff, authorized a public relations agreement, and received updates on operations, budget, and legislative issues. Public comments focused on the unresolved QR code issue in Georgia election law and the need for legislative action.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the agenda (motion, second, unanimous voice vote).
  • Approved meeting minutes for March 12 and March 16, 2026 (motion amended to correct dates, second, unanimous voice vote).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Janet Grant (resident of Decatur, area poll manager, chair of DeKalb Republican Party): Expressed disappointment that the Georgia General Assembly did not address the QR code prohibition in SB 189. Urged the board to weigh in through the state election board and advocated for hand-marked paper ballots with on-demand printers, hand counts, and post-election audits. Noted potential negative impact on DeKalb County.
  • Michael Beach (poll manager in DeKalb County): Urged the board to use its voice to push for legislative action on the QR code issue. Expressed concerns about emergency ballot procedures and security.
  • Betsy Jacqueline: Criticized Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones for blocking SB 214, which would have addressed the QR code deadline. Noted the lack of solution benefits the MAGA community's desire for chaos. Praised the elections department for excellent poll worker training this year.
  • Bethane Fruman: Urged the board to set dates for the upcoming runoff election early voting as soon as possible to allow communication with voters.

Discussion Items

Certification of District 94 Special Election Runoff

  • Director Keisha Smith presented the post-election report for the April 7, 2026, runoff. Turnout was 5.82% (1,050 ballots cast out of 18,047 active registered voters). Breakdown: 773 election day, 269 early voting, 8 absentee by mail. One out-of-precinct provisional ballot was rejected. The board unanimously certified the election summary report. A brief recess was taken to sign certification documents.

Approval of Profile PR Agreement

  • Director Smith presented an agreement for professional public relations and communications services with Profile Marketing. Total cost not to exceed $64,000 (at $8,000/month from May 1 to December 31, 2026). The firm was selected through an ITB process and has worked with the county since 2020. The board unanimously authorized the executive director to execute the agreement in a form approved by the county attorney.

Director's Report

  • Registration: 566,829 total registered voters (491,988 active, 74,841 inactive) as of April 9, 2026. 9,725 applications pending processing.
  • Budget: FY2026 budget loaded. Additional $1 million appropriation for outreach noted. Potential $5–7 million contingency needed if election procedures change due to QR code issue.
  • Training: 1,579 poll workers trained; LMS system launched; 135 deputy registrars trained.
  • Logic and accuracy testing underway for May primary.
  • Discussion on emergency ballot implications: 666 ballot styles would be needed for early voting if moving to paper ballots without on-demand printing, creating logistical challenges. Board members expressed concerns about high costs and staffing.
  • Pre-certification meeting dates set: May 22, 2026 (8:30 AM) for May 19 primary; June 18, 2026 (4:30 PM) for possible June 16 runoff.

Legislative Update

  • Attorney Jay noted the legislative session ended April 2 without addressing the July 1, 2026 prohibition on QR code tabulation. HB 369 passed, making certain county official elections nonpartisan in counties with medical examiners (including DeKalb). No other major election-related bills passed.

Key Outcomes

  • Certification: District 94 special election runoff results certified unanimously.
  • PR Agreement: Authorized executive director to execute agreement with Profile Marketing, not to exceed $64,000 (unanimous).
  • Pre-certification meeting dates: May 22, 2026 at 8:30 AM and June 18, 2026 at 4:30 PM (subject to DCTV availability).
  • Poll worker appreciation event: Announced for Saturday, April 18, 2026 at 11:00 AM at the elections office.
  • Board member request: Ms. Lee requested a resolution for hand-marked paper ballots to be submitted for the next board meeting.
  • No executive session required.

Board members emphasized the importance of election integrity, thanked staff, and expressed concern about the legislature's inaction on the QR code issue. The meeting adjourned on a unanimous motion.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon and welcome to today's um Board of Registration and Elections regularly scheduled meeting. Can I get the roll call, please? No board members. When I call your name, please respond by saying here. Vasu, Abby Rahman. Here. Travis Bowden. Here. Gail Lee here. DeLay Loman. Here. Carly Swift. Here. Madam Chair, we have a quorum. Thank you. Can I get a motion to approve the agenda? So moved. Second. And uh all in favor. Aye. Aye. Thank you. And um, can I get a motion to approve the February 12th and February 16th minutes? If there are no changes, we can approve them in one motion. So moved. Second. Second. Can I just note that it's the March? It's March. March. Yeah. Thank you. So the motion is to approve the March 12th. If I may, I'd like to amend my motion to approve these minutes for March 12th and March 16th, 2026. Okay. And just to confirm, those are the correct dates. The actual day. Okay. All right. So we have a motion. Was it seconded? Second. Okay. All in favor. Aye. Aye. Okay. We are ready for public comment. Public comments may be made in person or by submitting an email of one printed page or list in a minimum font of 12 to elections public CCMT at DeCab County GA.gov, which must be received 35 and five minutes to five minutes before the schedule start of the meeting. The body of your email must include your first and last name by submitting an email for public comment.

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