UPDATED: Decatur School Board Race Verified, Despite “Redistricting Error”
Decatur Metro | November 8, 2013UPDATE: Decaturish has obtained internal emails from Peggy Merriss, Marc Wisniewski and the Director of DeKalb County Registration & Elections H. Maxine Daniels regarding this redistricting error.
Back on Election Day, you may recall a conversation among commenters here about how they did not see the contested School Board race on their ballot, though they knew they were residents of District 1.
Well, it turns out it wasn’t an isolated incident or just a mistaken voter sounding off.
The DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections has sent a letter to Decatur City Clerk Janet Kindelberger admitting that they failed to incorporate changes to the district boundaries submitted by the city back in August. As such, “the boundary change affected a small portion of district combo 687 ofthe Ponce de Leon precinct.”
DeKalb stated that their internal analysis concluded that 10 voters were given the wrong ballot. Since the race was decided by 75 votes, DeKalb determined the error would not affect the outcome of the race. You can read the full letter HERE.
A email sent to DM and Decaturish by Mark Arnold’s Campaign Manager, Alvin McNeely, stated that though the Arnold campaign didn’t agree with the findings that only 10 voters were affected, since it’s impossible to determine “how many other people didn’t make it to the polls because they relied on the incorrect records”, the campaign did not plan to challenge the results.
You can read Mr. McNeely’s full letter to us after the jump.
In order to “minimize the chance that such an incident occurs again” DeKalb has requested that Decatur “that future notifications of district changes be made on a more formal basis, including a full-size map in addition to any PDF version and a cover letter summarizing the changes being conveyed by the revised map. Secondly, upon completion of our changes, We will deliver to you a revised street file for your documentation and review for accuracy prior to any subsequent elections.”
8 November 2013
To DecaturMetro and Decaturish:
This past Tuesday during the time the election polls were open a voter came forward with allegations of balloting irregularity. She stated that she had been provided the wrong ballot by poll workers.
A prompt investigation by the governing authorities concluded that indeed this voter was improperly given a ballot for the incorrect district. Furthermore, the investigation discovered the source of the problem. The most recent district realignment shift made by the Decatur City Commission had not been recorded by the Election oversight authorities. Attached is a copy of the letter sent informing all of the officially interested parties of the result of the investigation
There is no intention on my part, or on the part of Mark Arnold or his campaign committee, to challenge the result of the Election. We have offered congratulations to Lewis Jones via telephone, and do so now, publicly.
We do not agree with the finding of the investigation that only ten voters were affected. One voter who understood the situation caught the mistake. How many other people didn’t make it to the polls because they relied on the incorrect records? How many people did not pay attention to the contested race because they couldn’t participate in settling it by voting? By relying upon the records acquired from Voter Registration neither campaign would have made the deliberative attempts of contacting those improperly recorded to ask for their votes.
This all happened by mistake. Somewhere, someone made a mistake that wasn’t caught before the legal force of it came to exist. It did matter. It could have mattered quite a lot.
We govern ourselves in this country. We need to know what our government does. We need accountability and understanding,
It has been a privilege working to inform the voters of Decatur about the options and issues facing them these past several months.
Thank you.
Alvin McNeely
Campaign Manager
Committee to Elect Mark Arnold
Latest from Decaturish
Good call, good points made, upstanding of Mark to take the high road and must congratulate Alvin on a well-written letter.
Anyone else shocked that DeKalb blamed Decatur? Based on the response, it appears that Decatur did submit redistricting plans to the County, but those plans and accompanying correspondence weren’t idiot proof. Someone on Decatur’s end obviously made a mistake by not drating a letter as if the recipient was in Kindergarten.
Although I do think CoD shares a little of the blame as they should know that they have to follow up and review the county’s work b/c the county’s batting average is well south of the Mendoza Line.
While only Mr. Arnold can decide what’s right for him, I’m not sure I’d have let this go unchallenged. I, for one, preferred him as my candidate, and I know many others feel the same way (as the close numbers show). It’s a classy move on his part, but very disappointing that DeKalb’s screw-up could’ve cost him the election.
Cuba, I think Mark knows that the screw up didnt cost him the election, and I applaud his decision. Lewis won by a 52 – 48% margin, so I think it is reasonable to assume that a similar ratio would hold in this disputed area. Even assuming that Mark would have won 100% of the votes and there are 2 votes per household, there woud have to be 40 homes with 2 registered voters and 100% turnout from those homes in order for Mark to overcome the difference. I don’t think that is the case.
Agree that Mark and Alvin would have pressed this issue if they thought it would make a difference. Recounts (or whatever they are called officially) have certainly happened after other City of Decatur School Board elections.
Dear At Home,
Since you are not an effected party allow me to speak for myself. There certainly is basis for a challenge but that simply is not my interest. A challenge would only distract and delay the board from addressing the very serious financial challenges that are imminent. A challenge would not contribute to the general welfare of the schools or this community. Furthermore, in nearly 15 years that I have lived in Decatur, I am not aware of any recount or challenged race. My believe is the community will be best served by allowing the school board to focus on the very real challenges they face, which will require every bit of focus and ability they possess. And that the voting process is fixed to ensure that future voters are not disenfranchised; whether they go to the polls or not. Regardless of who you supported, everyone has a vested interest in ensuring that the right to vote is safeguarded.
Rob Pope requested a recount when he ran for School Board and lost by less than 30 votes. I think it’s a fine thing to do if you think it might make a difference. And I was dismayed that DeKalb County did not use the correct information to assign ballots this year. Thanks for running and sorry you lost. It’s a lot of effort to run for School Board.
At Home in Decatur,
Never in my life before this did I think that I would become aware of any incident of voter irregularity personally! As soon as I became aware that there was a problem I began contacting the City Clerk’s office, the people at the Office of Elections, and the manager of Mr. Jones’ campaign.
This incident happened because of a clerical mistake. It was nonetheless a “fair” mistake in that both candidates were affected in the same manner. At the time the evidence of the mistake was coming to light, and well before the polls were closed, I had spoken with Peg Bumgartener about what was coming to light. I did so because of the respect I have for the process, for both candidates, and especially for the voters. I cherish the rights we have in this country to select the people who lead our government.
Let me for a moment tell you about the people who take care of running these elections. I have spoken with the staff of the City Clerk’s office on many, many occasions. Invariably I have enjoyed the experience and found the people there to be of the highest caliber. They do fantastic work. From every interaction I have had with them I can say that they are incredibly fair in their dealings with those who are seeking elected office. Likewise for the staff at the DeKalb County Office of Voter Registrations and Elections. Have witnessed the tabulations of many elections many at there offices I can only say that they act with amazing neutrality.
I trust the people who run our elections. Procedures are in place that would have automatically performed a recount had there been a statistical or absolute vote count differential that required a recount. If they had determined there was a single vote separating the candidate I would have accepted it. I wouldn’t have been happy about it. I probably would have offered an impromptu demonstration of language that would make the saltiest sailor blush as a wracked my brain with questions and my soul with doubt. I would not, however, have demanded a recount.
The situation here was nothing other than a mistake. The City of Decatur is actually very lucky to have been informed of the error now before any more elections occur. I am sure that everyone involved will watch diligently in the foreseeable future to make sure nothing like this happens in Decatur again.
One further thing I want to ask is when has there ever been a recount in a Decatur Election for School Board? The history of electing School Boards in Decatur is fairly young; it isn’t much longer than twenty years if it is even that long. I cannot remember any Decatur election having any candidate demand a recount at all. Please help me by educating me.
Have a great weekend everybody.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the 2013 DeKalb County government!
Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss
The Who
You’ve got that right ,Lyrics Only Guy!
Speaking of fruitcakes, how ’bout the government?
Your tax dollars at work!
Yes indeed, the Dekalb County government is a specific kind of cluster. Considering Mr. Arnold’s gracious reluctance to view misfortune as a conspiracy, he has no place in their midst.
Mr. Arnold is indeed a class act however this kind of mistake should be covered by the Voting Rights Act. I would not be surprised if a federal investigation takes place and where that could lead, who knows!
I live in Oakhurst and many of my neighbors had Mark Arnold yard signs. I consulted the district map online before voting and it appeared he wasn’t running in our district. Although my girlfriend and I found thst curious, we assumed these folks were just supporters outside the district. Since that appeared to be the only contested race on the ballot, and it wasn’t on the ballot I was given, my girlfriend chose not to vote. I only punched one name on the uncontested district ballot I was given, just so oi could feel it wasn’t a waste of time.
According to the city maps, District One is entirely north of the tracks, so no one living in Oakhurst was eligible to vote in that race. So, Perrybgood, nobody living in Oakhurst was affected by this. See the map: http://www.decaturga.com/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=4394
Thanks, Diane. I was just unclear as to whether the maps themselves were wrong, since there were so many Mark Arnold sign on my street.