Findings Made Public in Investigation of Stephens County Elections Board

By Ethan Jordan – WNEG News

The State Board of Elections has released its findings regarding several complaints against the Stephens County Elections Office.

The complaint was submitted by former Stephens County Republican Party Chairwoman Rebeckah Bennett.

According to information obtained by our sister station WNEG from the State Board of Elections, under the Open Records Act, Bennett filed numerous complaints against former Stephens County Registrar Eureka Gober and the Stephens County Board of Elections and Registration.

Bennett’s complaints reported that Gober continuously failed to adhere to the rules regarding the fundamentals of the election process.  This was for the election cycles for the General Primary for June, 2020, and the General Primary Run-off in August, 2020.

The summary of investigation lists that Gober allegedly failed to properly communicate with board members of the Stephens County Board of Elections and Registration; failed to properly communicate with the media; failed to ensure it posted and/or communicated with official party representation, candidates/campaigns, or other party officials that wish to observe; and failed to complete a reconciliation and/or tracking of ballots with adjudication issues.

The investigative findings showed that there was not enough proof to conclude with certainty that Gober did not properly communicate with board members of the Stephens County Board of Elections and Registration; failed to properly communicate with the media; and failed to ensure it posted and/or communicated with official party representation, candidates/campaigns, or other party officials that wish to observe, therefore these allegations were unsubstantiated.

However, the investigation identified sufficient evidence to suggest Gober failed to comply with the closing of the polls requirements when she failed to maintain a zero tape reflecting voting devices were set to zero verifying no votes were present on the voting equipment; did not prepare or maintain the proper election records to show a discrepancy was properly investigated and/or reconciled regarding the total number of ballots as the number of rescanned ballots reportedly did not match ballots printed at closing.

Former Stephens County Deputy Registrar April Roberts is listed in the investigative findings.  Roberts states that she told investigators that poll workers were not adequately trained and did not know how to perform certain functions related to the elections process.

The findings include that with Roberts’ statement, “there is evidence to suggest that the Stephens County Board of Elections and Registration failed to comply with state codes that require the election superintendent to ensure poll officers and workers received adequate training in all aspects of state and federal law applicable to conducting elections.”

According to Investigator Gilbert C. Humes, “The investigation identified that there was no record of opening the polls election records on file with the Stephens County Board of Elections and Registration or with the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, suggesting the Stephens County Board of Elections and Registration violated Official Election Record Document Processes when it failed to document all voting equipment had the appropriate seals and that the electronic poll books, electronic ballot markers, and ballot scanners all indicated zero counts prior to the opening of the polls.

Humes says “The investigation also identified that there was no record of closing the polls election records on file with the Stephens County Board of Elections and Registration or with the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, suggesting the Stephens County Board of Elections and Registration violated Official Record Document Processes when it failed to complete a Ballot Recap Sheet and failed to properly investigate and/or reconcile the total number of ballots following a reported discrepancy and/or palpable error.”

Based on the aforementioned violations and the statement by Roberts, the investigation findings listed that “there is sufficient evidence to suggest that Stephens County Board of Registration and Elections Chief Registrar failed to comply with the provisions of the law that requires the election superintendent to ensure poll officers and workers received adequate training in all aspects of state and federal law applicable to conducting elections.”

As a result, Stephens County Board of Registration and Elections is in violation of O.C.G.A. 21-2-99(a)—which states “Instruction of poll officers and workers in election procedures; certifications; notification of completion of training to Secretary of State.”

The case has been bound over to the Attorney General’s Office.