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Record of Proceedings

DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections Meeting - September 10, 2026

Board of Commissioners & Committees — Thursday, September 10, 2026
BodyDekalb County, Georgia
SessionBoard of Commissioners & Committees
DateThursday, September 10, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:25:27

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:09

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

0:15

Erin, can I get the roll call, please?

0:18

Good afternoon, board members.

0:19

Basu Abi Rahman.

0:21

Here.

0:21

Travis Bowden.

0:23

Here.

0:23

Gail Lee.

0:25

Here.

0:28

Carly Slift.

0:29

Here.

0:29

Madam Chair, we have a quorum.

0:31

Thank you.

0:31

Can I get a motion to approve the agenda?

0:33

So moved.

0:34

All in favor?

0:36

Aye.

0:37

Aye.

0:37

Thank you.

0:38

Okay.

0:40

Can I get a motion to approve?

0:42

We have three sets of minutes.

0:44

The August 3rd special or regularly scheduled meeting on page two.

0:48

The August 28th special call meeting on page five, and the August 31st uh special call meeting on page six.

0:55

Uh, and I'm referencing uh the board's um packet.

1:04

I make a motion to approve all three minutes, the minutes from all three meetings.

1:10

Can I get a second?

1:12

Second.

1:13

Okay, all in favor.

1:15

Aye.

1:16

Thank you.

1:17

Okay.

1:18

Aaron.

1:22

We will now have public comment.

1:26

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

1:45

The body of your email must include your first and last name.

1:49

By submitting an email for public comment, you agree to have your name and email broadcast on the Ustream and entered into the record in minutes.

1:57

The Board of Registration and Elections reserves the right at the board's sole discretion to read your email in its entirety.

2:06

I apologize to read or record your email without reading any of it into the broadcast or read a portion of your email into their record or minutes.

2:15

Public comment must be limited to two minutes.

2:17

Abusive, profane, or derogatory language, holding up signs, clapping, yelling, standing, or laying the aisle to show support or opposition to a speaker will not be permitted.

2:26

But if shore of hands or quietly standing in place, will be permitted to show your support or opposition to a speaker's position.

2:34

Thank you.

2:35

Cheryl Dudley.

2:46

Nice to see everybody.

2:47

It's been a long time.

2:48

And uh I will start.

2:51

Um at first I thought what a short agenda the board had for an election to cab election board meeting before we start early voting in almost a month.

3:05

But I've come to the conclusion that you must be planning and working on things to keep all the Cab County voting residents make sure that we have free and fair elections.

3:17

The ice surge has grown in Georgia.

3:20

I have a group that was having a meeting about that this weekend.

3:23

The head of homeland security has not ruled out sending ice to the polls.

3:28

Ironically, and this is the second time I have researched this.

3:32

Believe it or not, the KKK Enforcement Act of 1870 and 1871 is still on the books, and especially the third enforcement act, which criminalizes conspiracies to deprive citizens of equal protection of voting rights.

3:50

It's ironic that we have to protect our voting rights from ICE and people that want to take that away from us.

3:58

Also, very interesting enough.

4:04

They have nothing to do with voting.

4:13

Also, furthering that Georgia Code 21-2-26.

4:19

Any person or persons who willfully block or attempt to block the avenue to the door of a polling place or interfere with the poll officers conducting of their business, which again is defined as poll officers, again, are subject to fines and time in jail.

4:41

And finally, 18 USC 241 Act.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Election Administration█████████████████████████████████████████████58%
Public Engagement███████████14%
Voter Registration█████████11%
Political Campaigns██████8%
Procedural█████7%
Budget Equity Analysis██2%
Summary of Proceedings

DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections Meeting - September 10, 2026

The DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections held a regular meeting on September 10, 2026, at 9:30 AM. The meeting included approval of minutes, extensive public comment focusing on a Pledge of Allegiance controversy from the previous meeting, a director's report on election preparations, and board member comments. The meeting was briefly adjourned due to a disruption during public comment and then reconvened.

Consent Calendar

  • The board unanimously approved the August 3 regular meeting minutes, August 28 special call meeting minutes, and August 31 special call meeting minutes.
  • The meeting agenda was also approved by unanimous voice vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Cheryl Dudley: Urged the board to protect voting rights from ICE and referenced historical anti-Klan laws; expressed confidence in the board's planning for free and fair elections.
  • Liz Shroop: Thanked the board for staying focused on election business and opposed adding items like the Pledge of Allegiance, calling them divisive and a distraction.
  • William Freeman (DeKalb resident, veteran, candidate for State House 88): Asked the board to correct the August 31 record regarding Real ID not being proof of citizenship; supported the Pledge of Allegiance.
  • Dr. Kendra Bogowski (Chair, DeKalb County Republican Party): Objected to a statement by Member Lohman that the special session was to "take voting representation away from black people," noting that 80% of DeKalb Republican candidates on the November ballot are Black. Asked for the record to be corrected and for unbiased election administration.
  • Dr. Angazero Brazer (Republican candidate for Senate District 44): Disagreed with Member Lohman's comments; requested the Pledge be placed on the agenda and a clean election.
  • Andrea Smith (candidate for DeKalb County Commission District 3): Supported beginning meetings with the Pledge of Allegiance, citing public service to the nation.
  • Earl Ferguson (Fulton County resident, retired military): Disagreed with the objection to the Pledge but affirmed the objector's right to free speech; requested the board reconsider its decision.
  • Jan Appling (sixth-generation DeKalb native): Asked that the board stand and recite the Pledge; her comment was cut short as the chair called for adjournment due to disruption.
  • Janet Grant (area poll manager): Thanked the department for securing additional early voting locations and for bipartisan collaboration; also urged support for an amicus brief on mail-in ballots.
  • Jim Duffy (DeKalb resident since 1948, Navy veteran): Argued that Democrat members' remarks at the August 31 meeting disqualify them from the board; called for their resignation.
  • Bill Henderson: Sang the national anthem and suggested placing a flag in the room.
  • John Arnold (poll assistant manager): Expressed concern about trust in the board after August 31 comments; questioned board members' allegiances.
  • Nancy Arnold (DeKalb resident): Stated that the August 31 meeting proved the board is not nonpartisan; called for impartial election administration.
  • State Representative Ray Martinez (District 111): Challenged the claim that the special session took representation from Black people; asked for an explanation.
  • Catherine Gaunt (poll worker): Expressed faith in the board's ability to oversee elections; argued that patriotic symbols do not define patriotism.
  • Beth Ann Freelan: Supported the board's decision not to add the Pledge; thanked the department for early voting sites; clarified that voter ID is for identity, not citizenship proof.

Discussion Items

  • Director's Report (Director Smith):
    • Total registered voters: 576,004 (active 505,700, inactive 70,304).
    • Outstanding applications to process: 8,081 (mostly from DDS). Department will extend hours to clear backlog.
    • Post-election audits showed no discrepancies.
    • Ballot proofing underway; logic and accuracy testing begins September 21.
    • Absentee applications received: 2,488 (down from prior cycles).
    • Early voting period: October 13–30, with two additional sites—Live and Grace and Wade Walker YMCA—added for the final week, bringing total to 22 sites, the highest under current leadership.
    • "Registered and Ready" event on September 26.
    • Budget update: $6,652,238.47 spent as of August 31; $7,963,295.10 remaining. An additional $26,000 was moved for equipment rental (quad mail machine) due to breakdowns; contract will end December 15.
  • Board questions/comments:
    • Member Lee noted density of early voting sites in one area (Bessie Branham) and questioned funding; Director Smith explained the quad mail situation.
    • Member Abarahan praised the addition of sites and emphasized the importance of processing voter registrations and maximizing early voting.
    • Chair Swift clarified that multiple sites in urban areas are due to density and city boundaries; the board has a budget to support them.

Key Outcomes

  • The board acknowledged the addition of two new early voting locations (Live and Grace, Wade Walker YMCA) for the final week of early voting; the chair stated the board would move forward with these locations.
  • No further action was taken on the Pledge of Allegiance; the issue was discussed extensively in board comments.
  • The board did not go into executive session.
  • The meeting was briefly adjourned after a public commenter (Jan Appling) exceeded time, then reconvened to complete the agenda.
  • The meeting adjourned on a motion.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon and welcome to today's regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Registration and Elections. Erin, can I get the roll call, please? Good afternoon, board members. Basu Abi Rahman. Here. Travis Bowden. Here. Gail Lee. Here. Carly Slift. Here. Madam Chair, we have a quorum. Thank you. Can I get a motion to approve the agenda? So moved. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Thank you. Okay. Can I get a motion to approve? We have three sets of minutes. The August 3rd special or regularly scheduled meeting on page two. The August 28th special call meeting on page five, and the August 31st uh special call meeting on page six. Uh, and I'm referencing uh the board's um packet. I make a motion to approve all three minutes, the minutes from all three meetings. Can I get a second? Second. Okay, all in favor. Aye. Thank you. Okay. Aaron. We will now have public comment. Public comment may be made in person or by submitting an email of one printed page or less in a minimum of 12 font to elections public CCMT at DeCab County GA.gov, which must be received between 35 and five minutes before the scheduled start of the meeting. The body of your email must include your first and last name. By submitting an email for public comment, you agree to have your name and email broadcast on the Ustream and entered into the record in minutes. The Board of Registration and Elections reserves the right at the board's sole discretion to read your email in its entirety. I apologize to read or record your email without reading any of it into the broadcast or read a portion of your email into their record or minutes. Public comment must be limited to two minutes. Abusive, profane, or derogatory language, holding up signs, clapping, yelling, standing, or laying the aisle to show support or opposition to a speaker will not be permitted. But if shore of hands or quietly standing in place, will be permitted to show your support or opposition to a speaker's position. Thank you. Cheryl Dudley. Nice to see everybody. It's been a long time. And uh I will start. Um at first I thought what a short agenda the board had for an election to cab election board meeting before we start early voting in almost a month. But I've come to the conclusion that you must be planning and working on things to keep all the Cab County voting residents make sure that we have free and fair elections. The ice surge has grown in Georgia.

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