Five north Fulton cities are moving toward partnering to hold local elections in their respective jurisdictions instead of paying Fulton County to administer the process.
Fulton, to the surprise of city officials, is encouraging the municipalities to explore their options.
Milton, Alpharetta, Roswell, Mountain Park and Johns Creek officials say the county plans to double or triple the cost of administering their local elections in 2023. Cities are charged based on the number of registered voters.
The estimated Fulton County charge per voter for the November 2023 local election is $9. The mayors say their respective city cost was $2 and $3 per voter in previous elections.
A Wednesday statement from the Fulton County Department of Registration and Elections said: “While we are ready, willing and able to perform this service on behalf of our cities, we recognize that cities may choose to perform elections on their own for any number of reasons.”
In north Fulton, Roswell paid Fulton $373,000 to administer its local election in 2021 and wants to increase that amount to nearly $677,800, City Manager Randy Knighton said during a Community Development committee meeting with City Council members on Tuesday.
“I’m disappointed that there is a need for such a focus on this,” Roswell Councilman Mike Palermo said. “I think we have no choice but to seriously consider this. Watching video of (the Fulton Board of Commissioners meeting) it sounded like they were suggesting cities do this.”
Roswell City Council will hold a special called meeting at 7 p.m. Monday to discuss election costs and management.
Milton is leading the move for change after producing its own feasibility study on how the city could manage and pay for their own elections, as well as the cost savings. In December, Milton City Council approved a resolution authorizing a superintendent position to conduct city elections.
Milton Mayor Peyton Jamison held a meeting with the five cities’ mayors and city managers earlier in January to share the election study and propose that a superintendent manage the election process for their municipalities.
Each city would purchase their own equipment and use paper ballets and a scanner to back up the data. (Sandy Springs, which is also located in north Fulton, does not have an election this year.)
Milton estimates its November 2023 election payment to Fulton would’ve jumped 103% from 2017, to nearly $190,000. By conducting its own election later this year with two polling places, the cost is expected to be $72,000, according to the feasibility study. And the cost would decrease to $56,600 in future elections, the document states.
Alpharetta approved a similar resolution to Milton’s during its City Council meeting on Monday.
Mayor Jim Gilvin said numerous cities in Gwinnett County and throughout Georgia administer their own elections. Changes in north Fulton are coming about now, he said, because of the county’s mismanagement of the election process.
A January report by the State Election Board recommended against a state takeover of Fulton County election operations following a review. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the state determined the county has made “significant improvement” since the 2020 election year.
Gilvin said his criticism is not about the 2020 Presidential Election. He complained that inefficiencies arise from lines of people waiting two-hours to vote at a single early voting location, compared to a small amount of voters at numerous precincts open on Election Day.
“We could have two or three early voting locations and we wouldn’t have all the mess,” he said.
Milton is preparing a draft of an intergovernmental agreement with Fulton County in the event an appointed superintendent doesn’t work out, Johns Creek Mayor John Bradberry said.
During a City Council work session Monday, Johns Creek City Manager Ed Densmore said one superintendent managing elections for the five cities “will pose some (logistical) challenges.”
Densmore said he wanted to be assured that the election can be turned over to Fulton County if necessary.
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