DeKalb Democrats Announce DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections Nominees

DeKalb County, GA (Friday, June 2, 2023) – The DeKalb County Democratic Committee (DCDC) has selected Democrats Susan Motter and Vasu Abhiraman as their nominees to the DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections for the 2023-2025 term. The nominations were announced to members and supporters at their monthly countywide meeting last night. 

Susan Motter has agreed to serve another term on the Board. A dedicated member since 2019, Motter’s reappointment for a third term will maintain essential continuity and considerable expertise on the Board. A passionate defender of voting rights and skilled attorney, Motter currently works as an Associate Partner at Aon, a global professional services firm.

Dele Lowman-Smith, who served two terms and led the Elections Board as Chair through critical staff changes and a global pandemic, has chosen to step down to pursue other opportunities. After an application and interview process, the DCDC has selected Vasu Abhiraman to replace Lowman-Smith. 

Born and raised in DeKalb County, Abhiraman brings an extensive wealth of knowledge of Georgia election law and procedures. Most recently, as Senior Policy Counsel and Deputy Policy & Advocacy Director for the ACLU of Georgia, Abhiraman led a variety of initiatives to expand voter access, improve voting procedures, and recruit election workers in coordination with Elections Directors across the state. In this role, Abhiraman also worked with volunteers to monitor Board of Elections meetings across Georgia.

In 2020, Abhiraman served on the Georgia Secretary of State’s Bipartisan Task Force for Safe, Secure, and Accessible Elections to ensure that all Georgians could vote safely during a global pandemic. The effort resulted in more Georgians casting ballots in the 2020 General Election and Runoff than in any other elections in Georgia history. Abhiraman also served as a DeKalb poll worker for several years and currently serves as Senior Counsel at Alliance for Justice.

“We are very happy to reappoint Susan Motter to serve another term. She and Dele Lowman-Smith set the bar very high for serving with dedication and integrity. We would have loved to reappoint Dele as well, but we understand her wishes and are so grateful for her strong leadership under very challenging circumstances,” said DeKalb Democrats Chair Brandi Wyche, “We are thrilled that we found an exceptional candidate to take her place. Vasu not only has an impressive resume, he has earned great respect among those that know and work with him. He’ll be a fantastic partner to all members of the Board and staff, and a tremendous asset to DeKalb elections. We look forward to a speedy confirmation from Chief Judge Jackson for both he and Susan.” 

The nominations for all members of the DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections will be confirmed by DeKalb Superior Court Chief and Administrative Judge LaTisha Dear Jackson who will also select the fifth At-Large member of the Board.

Dekalb Dems announce newly elected State Committee Members

State committee member elections were held at our last business meeting on February 28, 2023. Each Dekalb County Commission District elected three people to represent them as voting members of the Democratic Party of Georgia (DPG), except for CD5 where we have one vacancy. Each Super Commission District elected one member, bringing the total to 16 new state committee members. Here are the election results and our new representatives to the DPG:

Commission District 1

  1. Michael Greenwald
  2. Amy Swygert
  3. Andrew Heaton

 

Commission District 2

  1. Clare Schexnyder
  2. Jean-Louis Sankale
  3. Cindy Wilsky

 

Commission District 3

  1. Karen Davenport
  2. Larry Lowe
  3. Gloria Moore

Commission District 4

  1. Kenneth Royal
  2. Jade Gibbs
  3. Bridgemon Bolger

Commission District 5

  1. Dorothy Wiley
  2. Barbara Campbell
  3. VACANT

Super Commission Districts

  1. Brandi Wyche – SCD 6
  2. Janetta Cureton – SCD 7

Media Statement: Konnech Software Platform Developed to Schedule Poll Worker Shifts Has No Impact on Election Outcomes

Konnech Software Platform Developed to Schedule Poll Worker Shifts Has No Impact on Election Outcomes

Allegations and challenges are continued attempts to undermine local election integrity

Following the 2020 election, legal challenges around the country have repeatedly failed to support the barrage of conspiracy theories and allegations of misconduct relating to the election outcome. The latest attempt to undermine election integrity is the assertion that the logistics management software developed by Michigan-based Konnech was used to influence election results.

Konnech’s product is exclusively used for the management of election poll workers, from recruitment and training to shift scheduling and timely payment processing. There is absolutely no connection between Konnech software and the actual casting or tabulation of votes. They are separate systems that do not integrate in any way.

Konnech’s contract with Los Angeles County recently came under scrutiny when county officials alleged that poll worker data may have been stored on servers in China rather than in the United States. That news follows an ongoing flood of local voter registration challenges, open records requests and emails seeking to cast suspicion and further disrupt the election process in DeKalb County.

The DeKalb County Voter Registration and Elections office, responsible for local poll worker scheduling, confirmed that the poll worker data at issue did not include any private information, but only information that is publicly available. They also have assured poll workers that the safety of their data is a top priority and are taking further steps to ensure the public’s confidence in the county’s data security protocols. This includes housing data on the DeKalb County server.

Using the alleged Konnech data breach to insinuate that DeKalb County elections have been compromised is simply the latest attempt of the far-right to spread misinformation and draw illogical conclusions about our county’s safe, secure and fair elections.

Coordinated Campaign Office Now Open in Chamblee

Coordinated Campaign Office Now Open in Chamblee

The Democratic Party of Georgia (DPG) has opened a field office in Chamblee to help coordinate the campaign activities of multiple Democratic groups working here in DeKalb County through the midterm elections. Organizers and representatives from DPG, the Dekalb Dems, the Young Democrats of Georgia, and several candidates are working with the Coordinated Campaign office to ensure that we deploy the most robust and effective Get Out the Vote strategy in the history of DeKalb County.  We strongly encourage our house district chairs, precinct captains and others to reach out to the Coordinated Campaign office to participate in the many volunteer campaign activities planned and to get canvasing materials. This office will help all of us build a cohesive strategy for the upcoming midterm elections. The office is located at 

5383 New Peachtree Rd, Atlanta, GA

Atlanta Chinatown Mall, suite # 5389-N 

(The location is close to the front of the mall.)


OFFICE HOURS 

Sunday 11:30 am – 9:00 pm

Monday – Closed

Tuesday – Thursday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm

Friday 11:00 am – 7:30 pm

Saturday 8:30 am – 9:00 pm

Request For Proposal – DIGITAL MARKETING DIRECTOR

The DeKalb County Democratic Committee (DCDC) seeks an experienced contractor or firm to create, implement, and manage digital fundraising and communication. It is DCDC’s goal to raise money and awareness concerning the 2022 election cycle. The selected contractor will work with the DCDC communications lead in partnership with the fundraising lead.

Bi-partisan DeKalb Board of Elections and DeKalb Democratic party urge Gov. Kemp to veto Voting Bills

Bi-partisan DeKalb Board of Elections and DeKalb Democratic party urge Gov. Kemp to veto Voting Bills

The DeKalb County Democratic Committee and Board of Registrations and Elections (DeKalb BRE) joined the DeKalb House and Senate Delegation to denounce proposed voting bills on the steps of the Gold Dome on March 17.

“I was taught never to take our precious freedoms for granted,” Republican DeKalb BRE Vice-Chair Baoky Vu said in a statement. “The proposed so-called ‘elections integrity’ legislation … is nothing short of real voter suppression. If men and women in uniform such as Pat Tillman and Humayun Khan were willing to die fighting to defend our American democracy, then we must be willing to live fighting for it.”