An analysis by The Georgia Star News of DeKalb County’s absentee ballot drop box transfer forms from the November 2020 election identified a number of problems that puts the documents out of compliance with the Georgia Board of Election Emergency Rule 183-1-14-1.8-.14.
The Star News reviewed 725 absentee ballot drop box transfer forms, obtained from the DeKalb County law department in response to an open records request, that were used by DeKalb County during the November 2020 election to document the chain of custody of the 61,731 absentee ballots deposited in drop boxes .
The 725 absentee ballot drop box transfer forms can be viewed here.
As also reported, a major violation of the emergency rule comes from 43,907 of the 61,731 absentee ballots deposited in drop boxes in the November 2020 election in DeKalb County counted in official tallies certified by the county and state, even though they violated the emergency rule stipulations by not being “immediately transported to the county registrar” because they were signed in as received the day after being collected or they were not signed in at all by the registrar “upon receipt of the ballots from the collection team.”
The emergency rule, promulgated by the State Election Board at their July 1, 2020, meeting, defines when and how absentee ballot drop boxes may be used during an election, as well as an overview of the specifications for the drop boxes and their installation.
The emergency rule also establishes a chain of custody for absentee ballots by specifying that the collection team – which must include at least two people who have both have sworn an oath in accordance with Georgia statute – must complete and sign a transfer form upon removal of the absentee ballots from the drop box, including the date, time, location and number of ballots.
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