Richard Barron is probably Georgia’s best-known election official, but it’s not a status he aspired to.
Tensions across the country over election officials catapulted Barron, who has overseen Fulton County elections since 2013, from a relatively unknown employee to the target of threats after the 2020 presidential election.
Driving the news: That also played a role in his decision to resign.
- Barron announced his retirement in November, but remained on the staff until the district could find an interim director. His last day is April 1st.
- Last week, the county named Nadine Williams, a longtime Elections Commissioner, as interim director, the AJC reports.
Game Status: Barron isn’t the only election official packing his bags.
- According to a March 2022 survey by the Brennan Center for Justice, one in five election administrators across the country said it was “very” or “rather unlikely” to stay in their positions into 2024.
- Directors in DeKalb and Gwinnett, and in Augusta-Richmond and Macon-Bibb counties have all left their posts since 2021. Alone in his office, Barron said he made more sales in 2021 than in the previous eight years combined.
- “You’re talking about institutional knowledge pouring out the door everywhere,” Barron tells Axios.
What’s happening: Ahead of his last day of work, Barron spoke to Axios about his time as Election Commissioner and shared his thoughts on the realities and myths surrounding voter fraud.
Barron is particularly critical of Senate Bill 202, which was signed last year.
It shortened the time for voters to apply for absentee ballots, introduced new identification requirements for absentee ballots, reduced the number of absentee ballots in the counties where they are most commonly used, and gave the state more powers to oversee local elections.
He said bills like SB 202 are “unnecessary and do nothing to improve electoral administration.”
- “You have elected officials trying to solve problems that don’t exist,” he said.
- Fulton County was the first in Georgia to undergo a performance review by a panel appointed by the State Elections Board.
Barron also criticized House Bill 1464, which would give the Georgia Bureau of Investigation original jurisdiction to investigate voter fraud and other related crimes.
- He says the GBI is used to “detect conspiracy theories, no matter how crazy they are”.
Context: Fulton County is Georgia’s most populous county with a population of just over 1 million. It was widely criticized for its long lines at polling stations and administrative problems, prompting GOP lawmakers to seek a review of the county’s voting practices.
Flashback: how did we get here Barron said the shift in attitudes toward election officials occurred during Donald Trump’s presidency and increased as Georgia rushed into the national spotlight during the 2020 election.
- Misinformation spread through social media and fake news websites fueled the flames, Barron says. Some employees were called racial slurs and he and others received death threats.
Other incidents included a man who filed a bomb threat at a Fulton County polling station and a Fulton County poll worker who went into hiding after being falsely accused of throwing ballots.
- “I think we have a bunch of irresponsible elected officials out there just spreading misinformation,” he said of politicians spreading misinformation during the presidential election. “They do not care. They’re just looking at their next election.”
What’s next: Barron tells Axios that he will no longer serve in the county-level election administration. He said he’s taking some time to plan his next move.
- “I will miss my employees,” he says. “They are the only thing that keeps you through all the difficult times.”
