The Clarke County Board of Elections and Voter Registration decided this week that individuals who challenge voter registration statuses en masse will not have to pay fees.
The idea to require voters to pay for the processing of “frivolous” voter challenges arose at last month’s Board of Elections meeting. Secretary Adam Shirley introduced the idea, saying that individuals could bog down the county’s elections office by challenging the registration status of a large number of voters at one time.
After seeking legal advice from a county attorney, the board dropped the proposal on Tuesday.
“I am satisfied from their advice, I’m disappointed, but I’m satisfied, that their advice is there’s no reading of the law that would allow us to proceed with that,” he said.
The board’s chair Rocky Raffle said that the attorney’s remarks were under attorney-client privilege.
RELATED Big Georgia county to start charging some costs to people who challenge the eligibility of voters
Board members also decided that voter registration cancellations made online would need to pass under their eyes before being approved.
A recent move by Georgia’s secretary of state allows voters to cancel their registration online if, for example, they are moving out of state.
Adam Shirley worried that could be used to suppress voters.
“Online I can now look like Adam Shirley and not be Adam Shirley and cancel my registration and not know until I show up on election day,” he said.
According to Charlotte Sosebee, Director of Elections and Voter Registration, no online cancellations in Athens-Clarke County have occurred yet.
The last four digits of a voter’s social security number or their driver’s license number must be provided in order to cancel their registration.
The next Board of Elections meeting will be held in September.
This article appears on Now Habersham in partnership with WUGA News
