In response to your letter dated Jan. 20, 2012, I agree with you that Commissioner Hearn should have disclosed that we were cousins.
When he asked if I would consider this role, I agreed with some trepidation after doing some research into the roles and responsibilities. I felt it was something that I could do and I told Mr. Hearn that I would be more critical of his activities than of others.
You have been critical of me for not responding, but I felt it was appropriate to discuss your letter and the subsequent newspaper article with the remainder of the Elections Board at our Feb. 28 meeting. We need to have a clear understanding of the impact if any one of us were absent.
The newspaper article mentioned three areas that could be impacted by my stepping away from my responsibilities and I will address each one as we discussed them at our meeting.
Absentee ballots are received in sealed envelopes and maintained as such until the polls close. At that time, paid poll workers open and count them under the observation of representatives from the Republican and Democratic parties. Board members are not involved.
There are times when a ballot is damaged and has to be copied. Two people do this and board members have participated. I will not participate in this activity.
Qualifying is handled by the respective parties, as you know. The Elections Office staff verifies that candidates live in the district that they qualify for so no board members are involved.
Early voting is conducted by paid poll workers and Elections Office staff. Board members are not involved in this until the polls close and the early voting machines are opened and the tapes extracted.
At that time three people sign off on the tape in three places. Memory cards are removed and consolidated in one computer. Citizens and members of the press who are eager to see the results as they come in are always present observing at this time. I will refrain from this activity.
We discussed another area not identified in the article, and that is provisional ballots. Each of these is researched by the Elections staff and a recommendation is brought to the full board for action.
As you should be able to see from these examples, there are controls in place that ensure that no one person will be able to influence the integrity of an election.
The only thing that will have a negative influence on the outcome of an election is the apathy of the voters: those who choose not to vote and those who do not educate themselves on the candidates and the issues.
Commissioner Hearn allowed this negative perception of my appointment to be created by not disclosing our relationship.
You have continued the perception by not seeking facts about the Election Board’s operation or by attempting to get to know me before you started your criticism.
If my appointment is so controversial that it helps get people out to vote, then maybe we can look forward to saying that a true majority has spoken regardless of which side of the issue they are on. Unfortunately a small percentage of registered voters decide for us.
I hope that we can put this issue to rest and you will move on to more important issues in a constructive manner. When you continue to cast stones, you discourage people from ever wanting to get involved.
Addison Lester, member
Fayette County Board of Elections
Fayetteville, Ga.
