Gov. Kemp signed House Bill 730 on May 1 that makes changes to how appointments are made for the the Columbia County Board of Elections appointments.
With the bill now signed, the next step is to appoint or reappoint board members when their terms are up, said Columbia County Board of Commissioner Chairman Doug Duncan.
“The parties will recommend appointments or reappointments, and then we will choose one of those,” Duncan said. “They have to serve out their terms.”
During the April Board of Elections meeting, Nancy Gay, elections director, said her main concern was with board chair Ann Cushman’s position because it’s up this summer, but the other two representatives are not up until 2025. She added that it would be a good thing if Cushman could keep her position because her biggest concern is going into the 2024 election season with someone who has little to no experience.
“That’s my biggest concern. That’s why I try to convey to them is that we didn’t want to go into 2024 with three brand new spanking (board members),” Cushman said. “…but what I’m getting is nothing is going to change as far as this position here will change unless I want it to.”
The Columbia County Board of Commissioners approved Resolution 23-08, which asks the state legislative delegation to submit legislation to the 2023 Georgia General Assembly to amend the composition of the Board of Elections on March 7. The changes are needed to stay in compliance with Delay v. Sutton, where the Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that private organizations cannot appoint public officials to the Board of Ethics in DeKalb County.
“Under our current structure we violate a law upheld by the Supreme Court of Georgia, so we had to change the structure,” Duncan previously told The Augusta Press. “So, we had to change the structure, we had to change the way folks are appointed. Once we were made aware, we’re not going to be in violation.”
On March 29, the Georgia Senate passed and adopted House Bill 730, “an act to create a board of elections for Columbia County and to provide for its powers and duties.” The bill states the Board of Elections will be made up of three members who are appointed by the Columbia County Board of Commissioners. The parties who received the largest and second largest number of votes in Columbia County at the last preceding regular general election held for the president of the United States will each recommend up to three candidates to the Columbia County Board of Commissioners. This means that six total candidates will be presented to the Board of Commissioners, most likely three from the Republican Party and three from the Democratic Party.
The commissioners will select one recommendation from each party (two people total) to serve on the board. The third member of the Board of Elections will be appointed by the Board of Commissioners and serve as the chair. The only requirement to be a member is for the person to be an elector and a resident of Columbia County.
The current Board of Election members are Cushman (non-partisan representative), Wanda Duffie (Republican Party representative) and Larry Wiggins (Democratic Party representative)
For view the bill, visit https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/65302.
The next Columbia County Board of Elections meeting will be Tuesday, May 16 at 10:30 a.m. at the Columbia County Board of Elections main office conference room.
Stephanie Hill is a staff writer covering Columbia County government for The Augusta Press. Reach her at stephanie@theaugustapress.com
