DeKalb County Voter Registration and Elections receives recognition for election success

An organization that brings together officials, designers, technologists, and other experts to help local election departments improve operations, develop a set of shared standards and values, and obtain access to resources to run successful elections, is recognizing the DeKalb County Voter Registration and Elections Department.

According to a news release, the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence (the Alliance) has selected DeKalb County Voter Registration and Elections (VRE) to join the group’s inaugural cohort of Centers for Election Excellence. DeKalb County is the only jurisdiction in the state of Georgia to receive this recognition.

As a Center for Election Excellence, DeKalb County was awarded $2 million and the VRE will join a select, bipartisan group of election officials to share best practices and strategies in their ongoing pursuit of excellence, according to officials.

“The county is pleased to be a recipient of this funding in support of the Elections Department’s ongoing efforts to serve as a model for election integrity not just in Georgia but throughout our nation,” said DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond.

In 2022, the DeKalb Board of Voter Registration and Elections welcomed Executive Director Keisha Smith, who said that “collaboration, integrity and efficiency,” would guide her efforts to “ensure safe, secure and accurate elections.”

While the VRE faced challenges last year, such as during the May 24 Primary Election when a technical error in precinct scanners impacted a DeKalb County Commission District race, the department was praised by officials for its handling of the recount, as well as its management of both the 2022 midterm elections and the Dec. 6 runoff election, which broke numerous advance voting records in DeKalb County and Georgia.

“It’s an honor for DeKalb County to receive this recognition,” said Smith. “We will leverage this opportunity to advance our continued efforts to improve operations and to implement programs that are designed to enable DeKalb residents to be super voters.”

The U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence launched in 2022 and is a five-year, $80 million nonpartisan program that “brings together experts to envision, support, and celebrate excellence in U.S. election administration,” according to their website.

“My vision as chair has been for DeKalb County to become a pacesetter for elections in the Southeast, so earning the Center for Elections Excellence designation is particularly gratifying,” said Dele Lowman Smith, chair of the DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections. “What is even more exciting is how the resources and collaboration that come with this will enable us to keep innovating for the benefit of DeKalb voters.”

For more information, visit https://www.electionexcellence.org/ and www.dekalbvotes.com.