In order to prevent any controversies over duplicate voting in the 2024 elections, Fulton County, Georgia has hired a team of independent monitors to strictly oversee the election process.
Fulton County came under scrutiny during the 2020 recount when it was discovered that some ballots were scanned multiple times, causing widespread uproar. However, the case ended with condemnation. As the 2024 elections draw near, the Georgia State Election Board proposed to monitor the elections in Fulton County.
According to a legal opinion written by State Attorney General Chris Carr, Fulton County has agreed to hire a monitoring team, but the State Election Board does not have the authority to appoint election monitors. In July, Fulton County considered two monitoring proposals and ultimately accepted a $99,600 contract proposal put forward by former Chief Legal Counsel of the Secretary of State’s office, Ryan Germany, with a vote of 3-2. This decision was reaffirmed in August.
Germany commented, “We look forward to collaborating with Fulton County, and we believe this partnership is a firm commitment by the county to ensure the smooth conduct of the 2024 elections.”
The monitoring team for Fulton County this year includes Germany, as well as Carter Jones, an independent monitor responsible for overseeing the county’s elections in 2020, and former State Election Board member Matt Mashburn. Additionally, the Carter Center, based in Atlanta, plans to assist with monitoring polling stations, training poll workers, and conducting equipment tests before and during the election.
However, most Republicans in the State Election Board and Fulton County Commission oppose the county’s decision. They argue that members of these monitoring teams, such as Germany and Jones, were involved in the 2020 elections where Fulton County’s performance was less than satisfactory.
Previously, following a particularly disastrous primary election in 2020, the Georgia State Election Board had hired an independent monitor to inspect Fulton County’s election process. According to monitoring records, the election process in Fulton County was described as “sloppy” and “chaotic in terms of system or organization,” but no evidence of illegal activities or fraud was found.
Fulton County is the most populous county in Georgia, encompassing much of the city of Atlanta. Over the years, the county has gained national attention due to election issues like long queues and delayed result reporting.
Former President Trump focused his attention on Fulton County after narrowly losing to Democratic candidate Biden in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, questioning alleged local election fraud that led to his defeat. These cases are not expected to be adjudicated before this year’s presidential election, as the Georgia Court of Appeals has frozen all litigation proceedings related to Trump’s election cases.