DeKalb VRE certifies primary elections, modifies advance voting dates for runoffs

DEKALB COUNTY, GA—The DeKalb Voter Registration and Elections Board announced today that the May 24 primary election results for DeKalb County finally have been certified.

DeKalb elections officials certified the results in a 4-1 vote during a special called meeting  on Friday, June 3. Board member Anthony Lewis (R) cast the lone dissenting vote. The certification was originally scheduled May 31.

Certification of the results was delayed due to technical issues in the District 2 Commission contest, which required a recount of the ballots by hand over several days.

Officials said technical programming issues arose following one candidate’s withdrawal from the race, leading  to inaccurate vote assignments in the contest.  A misalignment of five precincts due to statewide redistricting created a technical issue prior to advance voting that required an updated voter database be applied to the District 2 race.

“We have undertaken a comprehensive approach, inclusive of a three-person team that validated each vote through a visual and verbal tabulation process, to ensure that every ballot cast in this election was counted and appropriately assigned to the proper candidate,” said DeKalb Voter Registration and Elections (DeKalb VRE) Executive Director Keisha Smith. “Technical errors associated with precinct reassignments through statewide redistricting efforts and the removal of a candidate who withdrew from the contest created an immediate challenge that prompted our office, in coordination with Georgia Secretary of State officials, to proceed with a hand count to determine the outcome of the race and the proper tabulations of vote. I can assure our voters and candidates that we have accomplished that goal.”

Additionally, DeKalb VRE noted internal audits implemented across May 24 races to ensure accuracy in those contests. A subsequent internal audit confirmed that no additional races were impacted by these isolated technical issues, DeKalb VRE said in a news release

“We are aware that there may be concerns related to contests outside of the District 2 races, so we have taken additional internal steps to ensure the accuracy of votes casts by following state protocols and guidelines for auditing purposes to verify votes,” Smith said.

“I’d like to recognize my staff, who have worked tirelessly over the last several weeks and will continue to work hard to ensure a smooth primary election runoff,” said Smith.

“Early voting is right around the corner, so we continue to encourage voters to make a plan to vote.”

Runoff Election Details

Election officials also announced an updated advance voting schedule for DeKalb’s runoff elections. During the special called meeting on June 3, DeKalb VRE approved various changes impacting advance voting and election day voting in the upcoming runoff elections.

The locations listed below will be available for advance voting June 13-17, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Registered DeKalb voters can vote at any location during the advance voting period.

For more information on DeKalb County VRE, visit www.dekalbvotes.com.