Are changes coming to the Columbia County Board of Elections?
During the Columbia County Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday, Feb. 21, commissioners tabled a resolution on the agenda asking the 2023 Georgia General Assembly to change the board from three members to five members. Even though the item was pulled off the agenda, Debbie McCord, the chairman of the Columbia County Republican Party, wanted to voice opposition of the proposed changes.
“Our opposition is based on the following: there have not been any issues related to the Board of Elections in its current form. There does not appear to be a reason behind this request for change, (and) there has been a lack of transparency in the process,” McCord said.
McCord went on to state that the resolution does not address how the two new members would be selected for the board.
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“Information we have received are that among suggested methods are for the selections to be made by the legislative delegation and/or county commission, in addition to the current appointments by political parties,” McCord said. “Allowing elected officials to select members of the Board of Elections would place the board in control of either of the major political parties. This would be detrimental to the voice of the minority party in the county.”
McCord told commissioners she spoke to an attorney experienced in election law over the weekend, and the attorney stated making a change to the Board of Elections with the 2024 Presidential Preference Primary and election cycle so close is an unwise decision.
“(These) changes could be viewed as an attempt to influence the election and election policy in our county and potentially result in legal action against the county,” McCord said.
Commissioners did not comment on topic during the meeting.
The current members of the Board of Elections are Ann Cushman, non-partisan representative, Wanda Duffie, Republican Party representative, and Larry Wiggins, Democratic Party representative.
