New Elections Director approved

♦ Lee Ann George taking over in department, Public Works position remains vacant and could be filled after press time Tuesday night

Polk County elections will continue to run smoothly thanks to the Board of Commissioners approving a new elections director.

Lee Ann George will now oversee the Elections and Voter Registration department for the county after her appointment as the new Elections Director. She replaces Karen Garmon, who retired at the end of June.

A four-year veteran of the county on full time duty, George previously served as the Elections Manager, overseeing the short term employees who work at polling stations during days when voting booths are setup at Polk’s seven precincts.

Prior to that, she worked on and off with the county on a part time basis starting in 2006.

A graduate of Cedartown High School’s Class of 1981, George and her husband Jeff continue to call Polk County home with their two daughters Mariah and Miranda.

George hopes to ensure citizens are more informed about the process all around.

“I plan to make the public more informed about the elections, what’s available for registration, and what our office does on a daily basis,” George said.

Her biggest goal since she is already familiar with the elections process is to get more people who are registered to visit the polls when the time comes. Out of 22,000 registered voters – give or take – in Polk, only 12,000 come to the polls during a presidential election year.

Many less than that come out when it is something like a primary, or for municipal elections held outside of midterm or presidential election years.

“Normally between 60 to 65 percent come out and vote on big election years and that is what drives the turnout, but would like to see that increase to 75 percent even,” George said.

Not to mention the off years when voter participation is even less.

Polk County’s Election Director undertakes a variety of administrative work ahead of polling, like verifying records and registration forms are properly filed and rules maintained for candidates and campaigns, along with coordinating the balloting process, and much more.

It wasn’t the only position decided during the Polk County Commission’s latest meeting. They also approved Polk County Police Assistant Chief Kiki Evans to fill Polk County’s seat for the Board of Directors for the Department of Family and Children Services was also.

The commissioners also planned to appoint a new public works director, but the group tabled the item after a lengthy executive session.

Polk County Manager Matt Denton said after a planned Tuesday insurance meeting ahead of more budget discussions,

commissioners will hold a special called session following that to go into an additional executive session to discuss who will fill the position, and potentially make a decision after.

“We’re working on figuring out which way to go,” Denton said. “We have a person of interest for the position, but we need board consensus before moving forward.”

He added that the position vacant for several months is vital to fill soon.

“We need a Public Works Director to continue the progress that we started in the past years,” Denton said.