Dougherty County Commission hears report from Elections Board chairman on 2023 election issues

ALBANY — A big question for Dougherty County voting officials is “Civic Center or Candy Room?” for early advance voting ahead of the Nov. 7 Albany municipal election, which also will have a countywide transportation sales tax initiative on the ballot.

After COVID-19 hit, early voting was held for several election cycles at the Albany Civic Center, allowing more space for social distancing. And after an issue with the state voting system caused many voters to wait outside for hours in warm weather in 2021, the venue was seen as a location where people could maintain social distancing, with the benefit of being indoors.

Discussion of the location for early voting, which starts on Oct. 16, will be on the agenda for the next meeting of the Dougherty County Registration and Elections Board, the chairman of that board, Frederick Williams, told Dougherty County commissioners on Monday.

The Civic Center comes at a cost, both in terms of rental fees and extra security needed for the bigger space, Williams said.

Prior to the arrival of COVID-19, early voting was held in the county-owned Riverfront Resource Center located on Pine Avenue. Some early voting has taken place at that location, referred to as the Candy Room, since COVID restrictions were lessened as well.

“We did have some people at our last meeting who did have some concerns,” Williams said. “Candy Room or Civic Center, quite naturally these are two different venues.”

Georgia law calls for a three-week early voting period, including the second and third Saturday during that time period. Local elections officials also may provide Sunday voting on the first or third Sunday, or both, during that period, at their discretion.

The chairman also fielded questions from commissioners about security, costs and pay for poll workers.

Responding to a question from Commissioners Gloria Gaines about whether he has any concerns about safety, Williams responded that he did.

“It was at the advice of our police chief several years ago that we have security,” he said. “That has always been one of my pet peeves, that people are safe. We work with local law enforcement, but we do not hire them for the precincts.”

During the course of Election Day, officers frequently patrol the areas near the county’s voter precincts, and in the few instances where there has been an incident, police have responded within a few minutes, Williams said.

When it comes to the cost to rent the Civic Center, “Security guards cost more than it costs to open the doors for the day,” Commissioner Russell Gray said. “It breaks down to having security is more than renting of the Civic Center. Now the Candy Room becomes much more (responsible) with taxpayer dollars.”

For the Albany municipal elections, there will be one citywide contest for mayor and competitive races in Wards I and IV. All county voters can weigh in on the question of extending the transportation special-purpose local-option sales tax (T-SPLOST).

The deadline to register to vote or register a change of address ahead of the Nov. 7 election is Oct. 10.

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]
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