The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved an audit of the DeKalb County Voter Registration & Elections Department after hearing complaints from voters about the way last fall's elections were handled.
A resolution approved by commissioners in a 7-0-0 vote calls for the Office of Independent Internal Audit to coordinate and manage an external operational overview of the elections office that includes a fiscal and performance audit.
John Greene, Chief Audit Executive for DeKalb County, told commissioners that it would take a couple of months to determine the "scope, objectives and methodology" for the audit.
"It will become a high priority in our work plan," he said. He estimated that it would take "six months or less" for the audit to be completed.
The resolution approved by commissioners specifically calls for an investigation of how the department has managed voter registration applications and how it manages new registrations, address updates and absentee ballot applications. The audit is also to examine procedures for handling voter irregularities and how information is retained and documented in case an election is overturned.
The audit is also mandated to include an assessment of how early voting is handled and whether the elections office needs additional funding to ensure sufficient locations for early voting in the 2020 presidential election. Training for employees on the new voting system for 2020 is also to be covered in the audit.
"This is a proud time in the history of DeKalb County," said Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson. Commissioner Larry Johnson said the the audit is intended to establish best practices that can "also be a model for the state."
The Fiscal and Performance Audit of the Dekalb County Voter Registration and Elections Department will be added to the 2019 Annual Workplan for the Office of Independent Internal Audit "to ensure that all citizens of DeKalb have a right to transparent, reliable and accessible means to exercise their right to vote," the resolution approved by commissioners says.
