Confusion over firing Fulton election head continues; state monitor weighs in

The commission couldn’t muster a majority because Democratic Commissioner Natalie Hall wouldn’t vote, saying: “I don’t have enough info to make an honest and fair decision.”

Republican Commissioner Bob Ellis said commissioners shouldn’t have a say in the elections board’s decision because it is an independent body.

“The dabbling of elected officials in elections is a very slippery slope and something which leads to a lot of untoward consequences,” Ellis said.

Barron, who has led Fulton’s elections since 2013, declined to comment Wednesday.

The elections board initially voted to fire Barron in a closed-door executive session on Feb. 11 — an action that appeared to violate the state’s open meetings law. The board reconvened Tuesday and made their decision official with a public vote.

City elections, including a contested Atlanta mayoral race, are eight months away.

Barron received heavy criticism — even from those commissioners who voted Wednesday to keep him — following the June primary, when some voters waited in line for hours, many because they never received mail-in ballots after Fulton’s system was overwhelmed.

After June, the State Elections Board approved a negotiated consent order with Fulton. Part of the deal was a monitor who observed and reported on the county’s handling of the presidential and Senate elections.

Voters finally got to the machines after a glitch forestalled voting on Monday, Oct. 12, 2020 at State Farm Arena in downtown Atlanta. (John Spink / [email protected])

Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC

Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC

The monitor, Carter Jones, told the State Election Board on Wednesday about the disorganization and poor accounting of ballots in the “chaos” of the November presidential election. But that’s not all Barron’s fault, he said.

“I do not think it is rotten to the core, but I also think that firing Rick is not a magic shortcut to fixing the problems,” said Jones, who has experience observing elections in developing countries for the International Republican Institute.

He said a new director would need “a Herculean effort if they have no power to replace some of the people that are our big problems within the system … there needs to be some managerial shake-up.”

Jones said he saw many problems but nothing to indicate fraud that would have altered the outcome of the election.

At no point during his 270 hours observing Fulton’s elections between October and January did Jones “see any illegality, fraud or intentional malfeasance.”

“That being said, I did, unfortunately, see a lot of sloppy processes,” he said.

Georgia SOS slams ‘tsunami of disinformation’ at committee hearing on election results

Secretary of State Brad Raffenpserger, the chairman of the State Election Board, said Fulton’s issues contributed to a narrative about problems statewide.

“It creates a lack of confidence in the results from Fulton County, and that’s why it’s a critical issue,” Raffensperger said. “It didn’t affect the outcome of the election, but it created tremendous distrust.”

The state board’s lone Democratic Party member, David Worley, said President Donald Trump was more responsible than Fulton for promoting suspicions about the election.

“One reason there is distrust in the election system is because one figure in the country spent months and months and months sowing distrust,” Worley said. “That is not going to be solved by tinkering with Fulton County’s election processes.”

State Election Board members said they want to continue outside monitoring of Fulton’s elections office, a provision the county agreed to last fall as part of an agreement with the state that avoided a potential $50,000 fine.