To say Georgia was a complete mess after the November 2020 election would be a massive understatement. The state quickly became the epicenter for allegations of voter and ballot fraud, among other potentially shady election-related situations.
According to the Washington Examiner, former Fulton County elections director, Richard Barron, will now need to search for a new line of work after the county board voted 3-2 to end his employment. The vote came down even as members of his staff pleaded with county officials to keep him in his position — one that he’s held since 2013.
“The person who is responsible for our success, the County’s success amid all of this, is current Director Richard Barron who has shown his ability to guide, motivate, steer and maintain the course of integrity, honesty, and fairness,” some of his staffers wrote.
Fulton County board members made clear in their vote that they’re more interested in moving forward, instead.
Not only is Fulton County the largest in the state — as it covers most of Atlanta — it was also the focus of a 24/7 media news cycle as former President Donald Trump and his lawyers focused on the county, alleging that fraud and other questionable issue took place leading up to and in the days after the 2020 election.
The county was also the focus of a number of recounts and audits that took place after the election, but failed to turn up the number or any information that would have changed the results in the county to Trump’s favor.
While Trump’s supporters and other allies will undoubtedly celebrate Barron’s termination, some Democrats, including board appointee Aaron Johnson, predict that Barron’s removal will throw the elections department into a state of “chaos.”
Republican Kathleen Ruth, on the other hand, applauded the firing, indicating that there needs to be new leadership in the department. She also made assurances that Barron’s termination was not born out of partisan spite.
“This is not political. This is a bipartisan vote,” Ruth said. “The department needs new leadership that can take Fulton to the next level, modernizing the elections process, making the county’s elections system more accurate and cost-effective and efficient.”
Even some Democrats involved in the process, like board members Vernetta Keith Nuriddin, agreed with the decision to terminate Barron, but pointed out that her vote was not just based on the 2020 election, but elections from previous years as well, suggesting that there were a number of problems with the county’s mail-in voting system that need to be corrected.
“My decision was not based on 2020′s election, but 2017, 2018,” Nuriddin said. “We have just consistent, continual issues around the absentee ballot process.”
Barron was one of the faces you might have seen on television after a video emerged which appeared to show election workers hauling in suitcases in the middle of the night. Many believed that the cases contained fraudulent votes for Biden, though it was never proven. Barron strongly denied the reports at the time.
Hopefully, Fulton County will finally get its act together and hire someone who can fix what appears to be a very long list of election-related problems currently plaguing its operation.
Article Source : thefederalistpapers.org
