In response to public outcry over the November 2018 mid-term election, DeKalb County Commissioners hired consultants to do a process review of the Elections Department. We now have the consultants’ report that addresses the problems that DeKalb voters face, and recommends solutions for avoiding the problems in the future. Implementing these recommendations before the general election is critical. However, the DeKalb County Elections Department has been slow to adjust and has pushed back on implementing the consultants’ recommendations.

The DeKalb County Board of Elections must immediately implement the following recommendations in time to meet the November 3rd election challenges:

1. Hire an external consulting group to plan, scale-up, and manage the end-to-end Vote-by-Mail process and operations for the November 3rd general election.
2. Contract with or hire a communications professional to develop and implement a voter outreach and communications plan.
3. Approve the 3-month implementation plan and work to accomplish the remainder of these recommendations, including; hiring and training tech-savvy poll workers and expanding in-person early voting locations and hours.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

❖ Prior to July 9, contact members of the DeKalb Board of Commissioners, the Board of Elections, and CEO Michael Thurmond and request they implement the three recommendations above. A sample email is included below if you wish to use it.

❖ Submit a public comment ahead of the July 9 Board of Elections Meeting. At this meeting, the Election Board will vote on a resolution regarding the implementation of the consultants’ report. We need to do everything we can to influence the outcome of this vote. With the November election a mere four months away, we must act immediately.

Public comment may be submitted by sending an email of one page or less to [email protected] between 4:30 and 5:00 PM on July 9. The body of your email must include your first and last name and address.

You can view the meeting online. It is at 4:30 pm on July 9. S

Sample Email:

To: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], srbra [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], lcjo [email protected], [email protected], ceomichaelthurmond@dekalbcounty ga.gov, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], delesmith@outlook. com, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Subject: DeKalb Elections Department Must Improve

I am a Georgia voter concerned about elections in DeKalb County. We cannot have a repeat of the problems experienced by voters in November 2018 and June 2020. We strongly urge you to do everything in your power to ensure that the DeKalb Board of Elections take the following actions now:

1. Hire an external consulting group to plan, scale up, and manage the end-to-end Vote-by-Mail process and operations for the November 3rd general election.
2. Contract with or hire a communications professional to develop and implement a voter outreach and communications plan.
3. Approve the 3-month implementation plan and work to accomplish the remainder of these recommendations, including; hiring and training tech savvy poll workers and expanding in person early voting locations and hours.

Respectfully,

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