The Athens-Clarke County Elections Office has identified two errors that affected up to 86 potential ballots for the May 24, 2022 election. One relates to an incorrect ballot combination affecting up to 73 ballots in Precinct 8B for Board of Education District 1 and Board of Education District 8. The other relates to the incorrect assignment of Hunnicutt Drive to County Commission District 2 instead of County Commission District 5, which affected up to 13 ballots.

On Tuesday, May 10, 2022, the Elections Office internally discovered a ballot error for 73 voters related to Board of Education elections. Staff determined that Board of Education Districts 1 and 8 were affected after assisting a resident with a sample ballot online.

The error only affected some voters in Precinct 8B, which is located at Cedar Shoals High School. The error was corrected for absentee ballots and advance voting locations as of May 11, 2022.

The error involves incorrect ballot combinations for Board of Education District 1 and District 8 for some Precinct 8B voters. While Board of Education District 1 is up for election this year, Board of Education District 8 is not up for election until 2024. 

As a result of the error, some voters who are in Board of Education District 1 did not have the election shown on their ballot, while some voters who are in Board of Education District 8 had the Board of Education District 1 election incorrectly shown on their ballot. 

The error affected up to 73 ballots before it was discovered and corrected. Of these, 49 were requested absentee ballots and 24 were in-person advance voting ballots that were cast.

Of the 49 absentee ballots sent to voters, 34 ballots did not show the Board of Education District 1 election on the ballot, but should have shown it. The other 15 showed the Board of Education District 1 option to voters who actually are located in Board of Education  District 8. 

As of the morning of May 19, 2022, a total of 25 incorrect absentee ballots have been received by the Elections Office and cast. Eighteen of these did not show the Board of Education District 1 election on the ballot, but should have, while seven incorrectly showed the Board of Education District 1 election. According to state law, ballots received by the Elections Office are considered cast and cannot be changed or re-cast.

Of the 24 in-person advance voting ballots cast, 19 ballots did not show the Board of Education District 1 election, but should have shown it. The other five ballots showed the Board of Education  District 1 option to voters who actually were located in Board of Education District 8. According to state law, these 24 cast ballots cannot be changed or re-cast.

The Georgia Secretary of State’s office corrected the erroneous ballot combinations for affected voters in Precinct 8B on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. In-person advance voters in Precinct 8B began using the correct ballot on specified machines as of May 11.

The Board of Elections met on Friday, May 13, 2022 to discuss and approve a series of actions related to the incorrect ballots. Voters who were sent incorrect absentee ballots were notified via certified letters to inform them about options for voting with a correct ballot. Additionally, the Elections Office staff have attempted to contact affected voters through phone calls and emails about their options. Staff can only reach out to voters if contact information is available in the elections system.

On Tuesday, May 17, 2022, the Athens-Clarke County Elections Office discovered a ballot error for residents on Hunnicutt Drive after speaking with a resident. Residents on this street were incorrectly assigned to County Commission District 2 instead of County Commission District 5 in the voter registration system. While County Commission District 5 is up for election this year, County Commission District 2 is not up for election until 2024.

As of noon on Tuesday, May 17, changes were made to the system to correctly assign all voters who live on Hunnicutt Drive.

The Elections Office identified 13 ballots that were affected by the error. These voters did not see the correct County Commission District 5 election on their ballot. Six were absentee ballots sent to voters, two of which have been received by the Elections Office as of the morning of May 19 and are considered cast. Seven ballots were cast in person. According to state law, absentee ballots received by the Elections Office and votes cast in person cannot be changed or re-cast.

Elections staff has contacted by phone those affected voters who received incorrect absentee ballots to notify them of options for voting with a correct ballot.

In both cases, the options for absentee ballot voters include surrendering the incorrect absentee ballot at a precinct or early voting location and voting in person with the correct ballot or canceling an incorrect absentee ballot if it has not yet been received by the voter or the Elections Office and voting in person on a correct ballot. 

A third option is available only if the correct district was missing on the ballot. In this instance, a voter can cast the received absentee ballot as is without voting in the Board of Education District 1 (for Precinct 8B voters) or County Commission District 5 (for Hunnicutt Drive voters) election.

“We take great pride in our election integrity and always strive for 100% accuracy,” says Elections Office Director Charlotte Sosebee. “As soon as we discovered these issues, we resolved the ballot combinations and registrations for our voters in the statewide system as quickly as possible and began contacting those affected.” 

“We sincerely apologize for any concerns and inconveniences that this has caused for our voters and candidates,” says Sosebee.

Over 280 ballot combinations are in place for the May 24, 2022 election as a result of redistricting changes on the local, state, and federal level that took effect in the first quarter of 2022.