Two vacant county commissioner seats will be filled in a special election in November, not May, the DeKalb Board of Voter Registration and Elections decided Monday.
The unanimous decision means one in 10 DeKalb residents won’t have any representation for nine months. But board members, including two who live in the affected districts, said holding an election sooner would be virtually impossible.
“I don’t know if Hercules could keep up with that,” said Board Member Anthony Lewis.
Larry Johnson in District 3 and Lorraine Cochrane-Johnson in District 7 resigned their commission seats when they qualified earlier this month to run for chief executive officer. The Georgia Constitution doesn’t allow people to hold one office and run for another if the two terms overlap, as theirs would.
District 4 Commissioner Steve Bradshaw, who is also running for CEO, did not have to resign because his commission term expires before the CEO’s begins.
The elections board had two options to fill the vacancies: Hold a special election on May 21 or on Nov. 5. Voters are already heading to the polls on both of those days.
At the board’s regular meeting, a standing-room-only crowd implored members to hold the special election in May to limit how long residents lack representation on the county commission, which has five districts and two overlapping “super” districts.
Commissioners are often the main point of contact for residents facing issues with county services, and their staff help troubleshoot problems. A call or email from a commissioner often greases the wheels.
Every resident is normally represented by two commissioners and many will continue to be represented by at least one. District 7, the super district covering the eastern part of the county, is also covered by the District 1, 4 or 5 commissioners. In District 3, many are represented by District 6, the super district for the western part of the county.
But according to the elections board, 10.5% of residents live in a no man’s land — the portion of District 3 that is also represented by District 7. These residents won’t be represented by anyone on the commission until the seats are filled.
Credit: DeKalb County Department of Voter Registration and Elections
Credit: DeKalb County Department of Voter Registration and Elections
“We deserve to be at the table with everyone else,” District 3 resident Beverly Dabney told the board.
When the board began discussing the potential of a November election, residents shouted out “no, no” and “unacceptable.” Several people stood with their backs to the board in protest.
Elections Director Keisha Smith told the board a May election would be challenging.
The county can’t piggyback on the May 21 general primary that will determine the CEO’s race and a slew of other offices, Smith said. Because there are less than 90 days until the election, if the county wanted to hold a special election in May it would have to hold what’s known as a “separate and apart” election.
In that scenario, the vacant commission seats would be placed on a separate ballot. When voters check in, they would be given a general primary ballot. After they make selections and submit the ballot, voters would need to check in again to receive the special election ballot. Separate staff would handle each part.
Hosting a separate election would require hiring an additional 390 poll workers, Smith said, and it’s unclear where they would come from. There are also logistical challenges: Some of the polling places are too small to physically accommodate equipment for two elections while others have limited outlets.
She said the biggest difficulty would be ensuring a smooth process for voters. It would be extremely confusing to many voters and require a lot of outreach.
“This is a different type of election,” Smith said.
In contrast, under the November option, the two commissioner seats could appear on the same ballot as the general election races.
Every election board member said they would prefer a May election but didn’t think it was possible.
“There’s what we’d like to do and then there’s reality,” Board Member Nancy Jester said.
