Georgia County to Charge Fees for Voter Eligibility Challenges

In a significant move concerning voter eligibility challenges, the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registrations in Georgia voted on Tuesday to implement a rule that will require individuals who challenge the eligibility of voters to cover the costs associated with notifying those challenged voters.

The board’s decision was passed by a vote of 4-1, with Republican member Debbie Fisher standing alone in opposition to the measure.

This action comes amidst a broader campaign led by Republican activists across the state, influenced by groups allied with former President Donald Trump, aimed at challenging the voter rolls. The activists are primarily targeting individuals who have relocated from their previous addresses, arguing that their continued presence on the rolls creates potential opportunities for fraudulent activity. However, Democrats and advocates for voting rights argue that these challenges are largely politically motivated, intended to displace voters who typically support Democratic candidates and to cast doubt on the integrity of upcoming elections.

Democratic representatives had advocated for the imposition of fees on challengers filing complaints as a deterrent against mass challenges. Many activists are using software tools like EagleAI or IV3 to initiate numerous challenges at once, targeting hundreds or even thousands of voters efficiently. Georgia law from 2021 allows a single individual to challenge an unlimited number of voters in their county, making it easier to mount large-scale challenges.

In Cobb County, historically a Republican stronghold that has now shifted toward Democratic majorities, the newly adopted rule specifies that challengers will be responsible for the printing and postage costs of the notification. The expenses are estimated to be below a dollar for each challenge, but the cumulative costs could become substantial. Cobb County Elections Director Tate Fall indicated that sending notifications for a recent batch of 2,472 challenges amounted to approximately $1,600.

While Democrats have pushed for counties to charge for all aspects of processing challenges, including staff time, legal counsel for the board, Daniel White, indicated that such measures could not be instituted without a change in state law. He clarified that the board does have the authority to charge for notifications, similar to a court’s ability to charge for service of process.

According to White, “When you’re contemplating 3,000 challenges, the cost of notifying those voters escalates significantly.”

Republican opposition to the new rule was vocal, with Fisher labeling the initiative as “egregious” and asserting that it is unjust to impose costs on individuals exercising their right to challenge voter eligibility.

Cobb County Republican Party Chairwoman Salleigh Grubbs echoed this sentiment, criticizing the board for not fulfilling its duty to maintain accurate voter rolls and claiming that challengers are merely stepping in to perform essential oversight.

“It is disgraceful when the Board of Elections seeks to charge individuals for doing the job they should be doing,” Grubbs remarked.

In addition to the notification fee rule, the board also introduced other amendments, such as rejecting challenges against individuals who have already been marked as inactive voters. Federal regulations stipulate that Georgia can only cancel a voter’s registration after they have not responded to a mailing and have failed to vote in two consecutive federal general elections—a process that can span several years. This regulatory framework has led challengers to target inactive voters for quicker removals.

The necessity for counties to establish their own rules has arisen in part due to the absence of statewide guidelines regarding the handling of voter challenges. This has resulted in varying practices from one county to another as they address similar issues.

In a survey of Georgia’s 40 largest counties conducted by the Associated Press, it was revealed that over 18,000 voter challenges were logged in 2023 and 2024, although the majority were dismissed. In previous years—2020, 2021, and 2022—hundreds of thousands of voter challenges were also filed.

Additionally, a new law that came into effect on July 1 may increase the number of challenges by simplifying the legal requirements for challengers to succeed in removing a voter’s name. Some organizations are currently engaged in litigation to contest this Georgia statute, arguing that it conflicts with federal laws protecting voting rights.