Dekalb elections director on an extended leave of absence

County official has been a frequent target of officials’ criticism.

Dekalb County elections director Erica Hamilton has been placed on an extended leave of absence, according to a joint statement issued by elections board leaders.

The statement from Dele Lowman Smith and Nancy Jester, the Dekalb elections board’s chair and vice chair, respectively, was provided to The Atlanta Journal-constitution late Wednesday.

No explanation was provided for Hamilton’s leave, which was effective Thursday. Hamilton, who first took over as Dekalb’s elections director in the fall of 2017, has been the frequent target of criticism from board members, county commissioners and other local officials.

During last year’s never-ending election cycle, those leaders frequently questioned Hamilton and then-elections board chair Sam Tillman about their sense of urgency in adopting changes and their willingness to accept assistance and new ideas.

An outside consultants’ report published last year also found that Hamilton was too involved in the department’s day-to-day operations to effectively manage “policy and executive functions.” And Dekalb Democrats chairman

John Jackson called for Hamilton and Tillman to resign just a few weeks before last November’s election, saying “they just refuse to do their job.”

In an interview this summer, Lowman Smith — a second-term board member who replaced Tillman as chair in July — did not directly address a question about Hamilton’s future with the county.

“We’re working together now to get the department where we as a board have articulated, and the community has articulated, that we want it to be,” Lowman Smith told the AJC at the time.

The five-member elections board, which has the authority

to hire and fire the county’s elections director, was holding its regular monthly meeting Thursday evening. As of press time, Hamilton had not been discussed.

Twyla Hart, previously the county’s voter registration supervisor, was serving in Hamilton’s role during the meeting — and will serve as acting director moving forward.

Hart has been with the Dekalb elections department for nearly two decades and “will ensure continuity for Dekalb County voters, partners and stakeholders,” according to the statement from Lowman Smith and Jester.

“Over the next several weeks,” they wrote, “we will step up our collaborative efforts to ensure every voter knows how, when, and where to vote as we prepare for a seamless election on Nov. 2.”

In Dekalb, November’s elections include a slew of municipal races and a countywide vote on renewing the education sales tax that funds projects for local schools.

The move to sideline Hamilton comes at a crucial time, as counties across the state implement changes related to Georgia’s new elections law. Leaders in heavily Democratic counties like

Dekalb are particularly on edge thanks to part of the law that allows the State Election Board to replace local election boards after conducting performance reviews.

While there would be even more hurdles in Dekalb, which has no Republican county commissioners or state legislators to request a review, GOP officials have already initiated that lengthy process in neighboring Fulton County.