Two poll workers were fired from working at the Ocee Library polling location in Johns Creek about 15 minutes before polls opened Tuesday, Fulton County elections officials said.
Johns Creek resident Laura Kronen said in a series of statements posted to Twitter shortly before polls opened that she and her son were removed from working in Fulton County.
Fulton County spokesperson Regina Waller said the two were “relieved of their duties due to questionable social media posts.” Fulton officials didn’t provide details about the content of the social media posts or confirm that Kronen was one of the workers removed.
A Fulton poll worker first raised concerns with Fulton’s elections office on Monday about “comments made by another poll worker during a virtual poll worker event Sunday and on social media,” Fulton County spokesperson Jessica Corbitt-Dominguez said in a statement.
The secretary of state’s office raised additional concerns Tuesday, after which Fulton officials decided to terminate the two poll workers.
“This decision is in alignment with our commitment to elections integrity,” Corbitt-Dominguez wrote.
Nadine Williams, the county’s interim elections director, said in a briefing Tuesday that she was “not at liberty to say” what the nature of the post was, but that “we just want to make sure the election is secure.”
“There were some things in there that were not allowed. You cannot take videos or photos in the election, so that’s what brought it to our attention,” Williams said.
In a tweet since shared by social media accounts that have spread election disinformation, Kronen alleged that she and her son were removed “because I posted on Twitter this morning that I was working at the polls to ensure a free and fair election.”
In a Tuesday evening media briefing, Williams did not disclose which posts were subject to officials’ concerns, saying that the matter “is still under investigation.”
But Williams did say that Kronen’s tweet about ensuring a “free and fair election” was not what flagged the poll worker’s concern, nor were posts that depict Kronen allegedly joining the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Credit: Anjali Huynh
Credit: Anjali Huynh
A since-deleted Facebook post appears to show Kronen outside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot.
”I stood up for what’s right today in Washington DC. This election was a sham,” the post states. “Mike Pence is a traitor.”
The post claims Kronen was “tear gassed FOUR times” and that she “stormed the Capitol Building.” Kronen has not been charged with any crime related to Jan. 6.
Interim Deputy Secretary of State Gabriel Sterling told CNN’s Erin Burnett that he was aware of the incident and said it “really is a Fulton County internal issue,” adding that the county has to “mitigate the risk the way they see fit given that information.”
“I think it would have been better if they found out earlier potentially and worked with the people, but since it was so last-minute and it came to light so late, I leave it to Fulton County,” Sterling said.
Kronen has repeatedly praised former President Donald Trump and criticized Democratic officials including President Joe Biden and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She sells merchandise, including stickers and T-shirts reading “CONSPIRACY THEORIST,” and she describes herself on Twitter as a “Conservative,” “Vaccine Virgin” and “Patriot Life Coach.”
She previously posted to Twitter that she and her son officially signed up to be poll workers because Fulton County was featured in Dinesh D’Souza’s disinformation-riddled film “2000 Mules,” which falsely claims the 2020 presidential election had significant voter fraud.
Earlier this week, she responded to reports that the U.S. Justice Department would send federal election monitors to polling sites nationwide and echoed resistance seen in states such as Florida and Missouri.
“So the DOJ thinks they are going to interfere in state elections? Good luck with that. Ain’t happening on my watch and I’m poll working in Fulton County,” Kronen wrote in a tweet.
