Forming a Conservative Electoral Board Members Association
by David Hancock
County Board of Elections Member in Georgia
November 2023
[Editor’s Note - Electoral board member associations are typically dominated by Democrats and Leftists who work to stifle other points of view. There is a need for conservative Republican electoral board members to band together to share information and increase their effectiveness in promoting free and fair elections. This is the story of how one such association formed in Georgia.]
ABOUT ME AND THE BOE
· I joined the County board of elections in May of 2023.
· Gwinnett is the second largest county in Georgia, with over 1 million residents (there are 5 states with less people)
· Realized that while I knew a lot about elections as a consumer, there was a lot I didn't know as a provider
- Movement of voters on and off the voter rolls (Active, Inactive, NC, NGE, CHALLENGE, etc.
- I had never even been involved in a voter challenge
- The power and limits of the County BOE
- The power and limits of the State BOE and their relationship to the County boards
- Board duties like budgets, finding polling locations, logic and accuracy testing, policy review
I NEEDED HELP AND SUPPORT
· I had seen how helpful Chris's Tea Party group has been, so I borrowed the idea
· I needed to find like-minded board members from other counties (GA has 159)
o But not all Republicans are on board with what is needed to ensure accurate elections. Many are little more than placeholders.
o Key point - To find likely members, All I could do is use my connections:
o Find people who were very involved in voter integrity efforts that I trust
o See if they had any recommendations of solid board members or know people I could ask for recommendations
o As board members join the group, ask them for members they trust
· Our first Zoom meeting was 11/13/23 - we meet at 9pm on Monday)
· We now have 8 members, and each member represents a different county
· Together the County Boards we represent cover over 3 million voters, or almost 40% of the voters in the state of Georgia
WHAT WE DO
· Share best practices and ideas
o We have some members who have been on the board for years
o One member is on a legislative task force to work on legislation for next year's session
o Each of us has a little different background (I helped talk about how to search voter rolls)
· Answer questions
· Offer advice (I have a project that I want to bring to the State BOE, and we discussed that last night)
· Sharing contacts. I am now in communication with a really good member of the State BOE through one of the members
· Work together on projects (again, from Chris - ACTION ITEMS)
o Strategy to get the word out about issues with our new voter registration system (GARVIS)
o Meeting with State legislators together
o Crafting 'talking points' and letters to the editor
by David Hancock
County Board of Elections Member in Georgia
November 2023
[Editor’s Note - Electoral board member associations are typically dominated by Democrats and Leftists who work to stifle other points of view. There is a need for conservative Republican electoral board members to band together to share information and increase their effectiveness in promoting free and fair elections. This is the story of how one such association formed in Georgia.]
ABOUT ME AND THE BOE
· I joined the County board of elections in May of 2023.
· Gwinnett is the second largest county in Georgia, with over 1 million residents (there are 5 states with less people)
· Realized that while I knew a lot about elections as a consumer, there was a lot I didn't know as a provider
- Movement of voters on and off the voter rolls (Active, Inactive, NC, NGE, CHALLENGE, etc.
- I had never even been involved in a voter challenge
- The power and limits of the County BOE
- The power and limits of the State BOE and their relationship to the County boards
- Board duties like budgets, finding polling locations, logic and accuracy testing, policy review
I NEEDED HELP AND SUPPORT
· I had seen how helpful Chris's Tea Party group has been, so I borrowed the idea
· I needed to find like-minded board members from other counties (GA has 159)
o But not all Republicans are on board with what is needed to ensure accurate elections. Many are little more than placeholders.
o Key point - To find likely members, All I could do is use my connections:
o Find people who were very involved in voter integrity efforts that I trust
o See if they had any recommendations of solid board members or know people I could ask for recommendations
o As board members join the group, ask them for members they trust
· Our first Zoom meeting was 11/13/23 - we meet at 9pm on Monday)
· We now have 8 members, and each member represents a different county
· Together the County Boards we represent cover over 3 million voters, or almost 40% of the voters in the state of Georgia
WHAT WE DO
· Share best practices and ideas
o We have some members who have been on the board for years
o One member is on a legislative task force to work on legislation for next year's session
o Each of us has a little different background (I helped talk about how to search voter rolls)
· Answer questions
· Offer advice (I have a project that I want to bring to the State BOE, and we discussed that last night)
· Sharing contacts. I am now in communication with a really good member of the State BOE through one of the members
· Work together on projects (again, from Chris - ACTION ITEMS)
o Strategy to get the word out about issues with our new voter registration system (GARVIS)
o Meeting with State legislators together
o Crafting 'talking points' and letters to the editor