There has recently arisen a substantial controversy among some of the voters residing in the Amicalola and Purdys precincts of Dawson County regarding the possibility that the Dawson County Board of Elections and Registration may relocate the polling place for both these precincts to the new Dawson County Middle School on Allen Street in Dawsonville...
There has recently arisen a substantial controversy among some of the voters residing in the Amicalola and Purdys precincts of Dawson County regarding the possibility that the Dawson County Board of Elections and Registration may relocate the polling place for both these precincts to the new Dawson County Middle School on Allen Street in Dawsonville.
As a member of the Board of Elections, and a resident within the Amicalola precinct, I would like to take a moment to try to explain the present position of the Board, how we got there, and what the options are for the future. I am here speaking only for myself as I see the situation.
Let me start by saying that it is a privilege to serve on this Board. There can be no more important aspect of a true democracy, in my mind, than the protection of the right of every citizen to make her or his voice heard at the ballot box. I believe that each of my fellow board members are passionate in the pursuit of elections that are honest, fair, efficient and in compliance with election law, and are perceived as such by the community they serve. They spend many hours familiarizing themselves with the complexities of election law and procedure. They study the operation of various pieces of equipment used for elections. They supervise the preparation for, the execution of, and the proper recording and certification of those elections. I have the highest regard for the ability, integrity and devotion of each of them.
So much for my preamble, let’s look now at the specifics of the matter.
Finding a suitable polling place for the Amicalola and Purdys precincts has been a problem for this Board for a number of years.
The truth is there are few, if any, truly desirable sites within these two precincts. Consequently, the Board has moved the polling location time after time in the pursuit of a suitable venue. From the date the Board of Elections was created in 1998 until August of 2002 the Emma Fire Station was used for the Amicalola precinct. The heightened requirements placed on election procedures, equipment and polling places in response to the inadequacies perceived in the 2000 presidential election, and the lack of satisfactory heating, air-conditioning and parking precipitated a move to Uncle Jack’s Pizza restaurant. That location was soon abandoned because the owner of the property reduced substantially the space being made available for a polling venue and once again the available parking was insufficient. In November of 2003, Mr. Ernie Elliott offered the use of a building on the Elliott family property on GA Highway183 and the Board subsequently moved the Amicalola polling place to that site. In December of that year the Board moved Purdys precinct there as well. The Elliott location was a totally acceptable venue, but in March of 2006, Mr. Elliott declined to renew the lease agreement. Once again, therefore, the Board was faced with finding a satisfactory polling place, not only for the Amicalola precinct but the Purdys precinct as well. During the course of all these moves the Board investigated the suitability of a number of sites including Fire Station #6. All the sites examined were either inadequate or unwilling to become a polling location. In fact Fire Station #6 was visited by the Board on several occasions and was repeatedly found to be unsatisfactory.
At a regularly held meeting of the Board on April 20th of 2006, attended by the Chairman of the Dawson County Board of Commissioners, Mr. Mike Berg, the Board of Elections was led to believe that if, when it became necessary to vacate the Elliott property, they would move the polling place for Amicalola and Purdys precincts to Fire Station #6, the county would make the necessary upgrades required for that location to temporarily serve as an adequate venue. The improvements were to consist of, among other things, additional access doors to provide for handicapped voters, heating and air-conditioning of the bay area, and paving to provide additional parking and traffic flow. In addition, Mr. Berg indicated that the county and the Big Canoe Property Owners Association would work together toward providing a room adjoining the fire station that could serve as a permanent polling place. In consideration of these assurances of improvements the Board voted on April 24th, 2006 to move the Amicalola and Purdys precincts polling place to Fire Station #6.
At the time of the subsequent July 18th Primary election of 2006, the ADA mandated access doors had been installed, but no air-conditioning was provided and the parking arrangements were essentially unchanged. An evaporative cooler was temporarily placed inside the bay area of the fire station but was not able to provide sufficient cooling. The temperature within the bay area rose to 95 degrees and several of the poll workers complained of feeling ill. In order to make space available to conduct the election, the fire trucks and emergency vehicles were moved to a parking lot within Big Canoe, and the fire and emergency personnel were required to share their limited rest area with the poll workers.
The Board has therefore determined that Fire Station #6 on Hubbard Road, in its current configuration is an unsatisfactory and inappropriate venue for elections for the following reasons:
- the heating and air-conditioning are inadequate for the electors and the poll workers [GEC 21-2-267];
-the lighting, both interior and exterior, is inadequate, [GEC 21-2-267];
- the parking space is grossly inadequate [GEC 21-2- 265(a)];
-the “rest break” area to be provided for poll workers is inadequate [GEC 21-2-265(a);
- the operation of the polling place interferes substantially with the operation for which the building was constructed [GEC 21-2-226(a)].
During the fall of 2006, as preparations were being made for the upcoming SPLOST V election, several community organizations located in the Amicalola District began a campaign to support the construction of a community center in the near vicinity of Fire Station #6. Since such a community center might be a very nice venue for a polling place, the plans for the separate room adjacent to the fire station were put on hold. It now appears that it will probably be several years before either a community center or the separate room will be constructed.
Consequently, for lack of any other suitable location, and with the desire to end the continuous changes being forced on the Amicalola and Purdys voters, on June 11th of 2007 the Board voted to move the polling place for these two precincts to the Robinson Elementary School in Dawsonville so long as after inspection it was found to be a venue that would comply with election law, the needs of the voters and the requirements of the poll workers and election officials. Shortly thereafter a subcommittee of the Board met with the Dawson County Superintendent of Schools, Mr. Nicky Gilleland, at Robinson Elementary School to evaluate the facility from the standpoint of serving as a polling place. In the course of that evaluation the subcommittee determined that there was a problem at Robinson regarding access to the rooms to be used for voting from the parking area. At that point Mr. Gilleland recommended that instead of using Robinson, the board consider locating the polling place in the new Dawson County Middle School then under construction. The Board understood at the time of that suggestion that the Middle School would be available for the February 5th Presidential Preference Primary of 2008.
Prior to the next scheduled meeting of the Board of Elections, the Superintendent of Schools contacted the Chairperson of the Board and said that there had been a misunderstanding and that the Middle School would not have a certificate of occupancy in time for the February 5 election. For that reason the Board tabled the motion to name a new polling place for both the Amicalola and Purdys precincts until the certificate of occupancy had been received and the Board had a chance to make its evaluation of this site.
On February 25th of this year the subcommittee of the Board of Elections made their inspection of the new middle school. The Board will be meeting soon to hear the subcommittee’s evaluation. What action the Board will then take will be up to their collective judgment of the situation as it relates to the needs of all the electors of both Amicalola and Purdys precincts and the dictates of the Georgia Election Code. Some of the voters in the Amicalola precinct, mainly those residing in the Big Canoe community, have pointed out that Fire Station #6 is a much more convenient venue, and in that they are absolutely correct. One of the principal factors that the Board considers when selecting a polling place is the convenience of the location for the electors. But that is only one of the considerations that the Board must balance in making their selection. It has been suggested that a move to a less convenient polling location will amount to the disenfranchisement of voters. That is incorrect. If it is not possible for an elector to travel to the designated polling place, regardless of where it may be located, - even if it is right next door to the elector’s residence - , that elector may exercise their right to vote an absentee ballot by mail, and no reason for the requested ballot is required. They may also stop and vote with an appropriate reason at the Elections and Registration office on a trip through Dawsonville during the forty-five days preceding the election. Similarly they also have the option of Advance Voting, with no reason required, at the Elections office for the five days prior to election week.
I hope this lengthy explanation has helped you, my neighbors, understand the decisions the Board of Elections has made in this regard. If you have further questions, please direct them to the Board and we will do our best to provide an answer. In the meantime, please remember that every meeting that has been held in the past by the Dawson County Board of Elections and Registration has been open to the public. And every meeting it will hold in the future will likewise be held publicly. The Board enthusiastically welcomes your attendance.
Spencer Maddux, Member of The Dawson County
Board of Elections and Registration