Kemp Announces Diverse ‘Voting System Review’ Commission

Secretary of State Brian Kemp has announced his list of appointees for the newly created SAFE Commission on Georgia’s voting system. The acronym ‘SAFE’ stands for Secure, Accessible & Fair Elections.

The Commission is charged with conducting ‘thorough discussions on all options – including the feasibility of using all hand-marked paper ballots to all electronic machines with a voter-verified paper trail – and travel the state to solicit feedback from stakeholders.”

“This distinguished group of public servants is diverse, knowledgeable, and ready to engage with stakeholders to research the options for our state’s next voting system,” Kemp said in his press release Monday. “It is an honor to serve alongside these individuals, who are committed to an open, transparent, and inclusive process where we set our politics aside and focus on how we can keep Georgia’s elections secure, accessible, and fair.”

The SAFE Commission’s members include the following:

Co-Chairs

• Secretary of State Brian Kemp
• State Representative Barry A. Fleming (R – Harlem)

State Legislators

• State Representative James Beverly (D – Macon)
• State Senator Lester Jackson (D – Savannah)
• State Senator Brian Strickland (R – McDonough)

Elections Officials

• Lynn Bailey, Executive Director, Richmond County Board of Elections
• Nancy Boren, Director of Elections & Voter Registration, Muscogee County
• H. Maxine Daniels, retired Director of Voter Registration & Elections, DeKalb County
• Deidre Holden, Supervisor of Elections & Voter Registration, Paulding County
• Darin McCoy, Probate Judge and Election Superintendent, Evans County
• Cynthia Welch, Supervisor, Rockdale County Board of Elections & Voter Registration Office

Information Technology and Cyber Security Expert

• Wenke Lee, Co-Executive Director, Georgia Tech’s Institute for Information Security & Privacy (IISP)

Political Party Representatives

• Michael Jablonski, General Counsel, Democratic Party of Georgia
• John Monds, Libertarian Party of Georgia, Executive Committee
• Vincent Russo, Deputy General Counsel, Georgia Republican Party

Voter Accessibility Expert

• Amy Howell, Assistant Commissioner and General Counsel, Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD)

Voters At-Large

• James “Jimmy” McDonald, Managing Principal, McDonald Firm, LLC
• Sheila Ross, Director of Capital Litigation, Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia

Members will conduct cost analysis of market options, research post-election audit procedures, and provide legislative recommendations to lawmakers before the next session of Georgia’s General Assembly.

No meeting dates or locations have been announced yet.