Milton Herald Story.  Today the Milton Herald published an article about the controversy swirling around Milton’s rejection of a District 3 polling location.  I first broke this important story last Thursday (July 20^th) in a blog post.  The Milton Herald’s article (by Amber Perry) is definitely worth reading and provides confirmation of my earlier blog post.  Following is a link.

Milton Herald: Consultant – Milton Erred in Removing District 3 Polling Place

The article mentions that Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight and other progressive groups have protested to the City.  My hope is that the Milton Herald will continue to investigate and report on the shameful elections fiasco in Milton.  Ms. Perry should contact the key players for comment, including the involved partisan activists.  There is also much more to this story that demands further investigation, including back-room interference from two council members and from partisan activists. 

To its great credit, Appen Media has done an excellent job reporting about Milton and other North Fulton cities’ elections initiatives.  Following are links to many other (not all) Milton Herald stories about (or related to) Milton’s election initiative.  The bolded hyperlinks are the stories I believe are more interesting, including how Milton’s sister cities wisely stepped back from the brink.  This list has been updated and reflects articles published through October 20, 2023:

1. 08-11-2021:  Milton considers future path to conduct its own elections
2. 08-11-2021:  Letter: Supervision of elections requires careful thought
3. 10-26-2021:  Miltonites continue push to fire Fulton County from running city’s elections
4. 01-10-2022:  Fulton County elections director’s employment status remains undecided
5. 01-14-2022:  Fulton County Elections Board faces funding challenges
6. 04-22-2022:  Milton formalizes committee to research election feasibility
7. 06-20-2022:  Milton Election Feasibility Committee sets ground rules
8. 07-22-2022:  Milton election committee member subpoenaed in 2020 vote probe
9. 08-08-2022:  Milton looks to model city for election guidance
10. 08-26-2022:  Milton residents question partisanship of elections committee
11. 09-12-2022:  Records draw more questions about Milton election committee
12. 09-19-2022:  Milton elections panel makes progress
13. 11-16-2022:  Milton opens door for municipal election operations
14. 12-11-2022: Milton elections committee prepares final presentation
15. 12-11-2022:  Milton elections panel presents findings, including polling costs
16. 12-21-2022:  Milton will run its own elections in 2023
17. 01-25-2023:  North Fulton cities rush to run their own elections
18. 01-30-2023:  Roswell will talk elections tonight at special public meeting
19. 01-30-2023:  Roswell pushes to run its own municipal elections
20. 01-31-2023:  Roswell advances plan to break from Fulton County elections
21. 02-04-2023:  Opinion: Cities may cede election decisions to six people
22. 02-06-2023:  Fulton County offers to match 2021 municipal election costs
23. 02-10-2023:  North Fulton mayors meet to discuss municipal elections
24. 02-28-2023:  Impact Johns Creek talks municipal elections
25. 03-01-2023:  Johns Creek will not run its own municipal elections
26. 03-16-2023:  Roswell joins Johns Creek in scrapping municipal election bid
27. 03-17-2023:  Alpharetta to talk municipal elections at Monday’s work session
28. 03-23-2023:  Alpharetta still undecided on 2023 municipal elections
29. 03-28-2023:  Alpharetta sticks with Fulton County for November elections
30. 04-14-2023:  Milton officials begin shaping municipal elections plan
31. 04-18-2023:  Alpharetta seals deal for Fulton County elections
32. 04-19-2023:  Secretary of State talks election security at Johns Creek chamber event
33. 05-03-2023:  Milton opts for two Election Day polling places, will likely hand-count ballots
34. 05-05-2023:  Data: Milton’s Democratic voters face longest polling commute
35. 05-19-2023:  Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight accuses Milton of suppressing minority voters
36. 06-07-2023:  Opinion: How a city can paint itself into a corner
37. 06-08-2023:  Milton hires former Fulton County elections official to help run city operation
38. 06-12-2023:  Milton seeks poll workers for 2023 municipal elections
39. 07-10-2023:  Milton seeks election help from volunteer committees
40. 07-10-2023:  State guidelines govern Milton’s election sojourn
41. 07-14-2023:  Milton hosts Q&A session with possible poll workers
42. 07-24-2023:  Consultant: Milton erred in removing District 3 polling place
43. 07-25-2023:  Milton officials backtrack, add third polling site
44. 08-01-2023: Accusations of Election Tampering Raise Questions of City Council Purview
45. 08-22-2023: Milton Replaces Elections Consultant
46. 08-23-2023: Citizens Form Independent Committee Ahead of Milton City Council Election
47. 08-25-2023: Here are the Milton City Council Candidates
48. 08-31-2023: Registered Milton Voters Can Apply for Municipal Election Absentee Ballots
49. 09-05-2023: Elections Spending Analysis
50. 09-06-2023: Milton Hires Poll Workers For Its November Election
51. 09-07-2023: Milton City Council Responds to Elections Scrutiny Legal Challenges
52. 09-08-2023: Mitlon Mayor Receives Death Threats
53. 09-15-2023: Bridget Thorne Hosts Elections Talk at Fulton County Town Hall
54. 09-22-2023: Claims of Email Hacking May Spark Second Milton Investigation
55. 10-02-2023: Milton Election Feasibility Report was Reshaped Before Council Presentation
56. 10-02-2023: Interactive Demonstrates Troubling Revisions Made to Staff’s Draft Report to Create Biased Final Report
57. 10-02-2023: Mystery Around Elections Committee Formation, Revisionist History, and Concerns About Hyper-Partisan Poll Worker
58. 10-09-2023: Milton Residents Defend Councilman & Criticize City Manager
59. 10-09-2023: Candidate For Milton City Council Spar at Appen Debate
60. 10-10-2023: Milton to Conduct Mock Election October 12
61. 10-16-2023: Milton Elections Team Does a Trial Run with Mock Ballots
62. 10-16-2023: Milton Elections Cost Now $60,000 Higher Than Fulton County
63. 10-20-2023: Milton Held Secret Election Meeting . . . Mayor Apologizes

EFC Recommended District 3 Polling Location at Milton Public Safety Complex (MPSC)!!!!!!!  This past weekend I watched most of city council’s deliberations about running its own municipal elections.  This includes the Election Feasibility Committee’s (EFC) presentation of recommendations to city council.  And surprise of surprises!  The EFC actually recommended polling locations in District 1 and . . . drumroll . . . District 3 at the MPSC (not District 2). 

Mark Amick presented the EFC’s operational recommendations and proposed the MPSC as a voting location based on population density and Milton’s traffic patterns.  This is important because partisan activists have been loudly complaining that city council is not following the EFC’s recommendations chapter-and-verse.  However, we’ve not heard a peep from these activists about city council not following the EFC’s voting location recommendation.  Hmm?  And unfortunately, no one in city government caught this error; no one bothered to actually reference the EFC’s recommendations.  Chalk it up to all-too-typical incompetence at City Hall.

The switch-up from a District 3 polling location to a District 2 polling location got accomplished in later council meetings.  It was first suggested by Jan Jacobus, with Paul Moore and Rick Mohrig piling on.  Of course, Mr. Moore was more than willing to make it easier for District 2 voters to vote, as he is from District 2 and has a (small and shrinking) base of support there; it benefits Mr. Moore to make it as convenient as possible for these District 2 supporters to vote.  However, this inconvenient fact (of the switch in polling locations) makes the city even more vulnerable to legal challenges.  It was originally and wrongly reported that the city failed to add a third polling location in District 3 when in fact the City replaced a District 3 polling location with a District 2 voting location (and later refused to add back the District 3 polling location).  Worse, Mr. Moore cited the higher proportion of District 2 voters (than District 3 voters) participating in elections as justification for switching polling locations . . . essentially opining that District 3 voters should be punished for historically low turnout.  I suspect Mr. Moore’s rationalization will provide much fodder for legal challenges. 

Ms. Nuriddan’s Deletion of Text Communications.  After a week of stalling, Milton’s City Attorney finally coughed up the following email from Milton’s election consultant, Vernetta Nuriddan . . . and it is a shocker.  I had asked for Ms. Nuriddan’s text messages with city staff and council members Paul Moore and Rick Mohrig.  I was especially interested in texts with the two council members.  Well, Ms. Nuriddan responded that she “routinely” deletes all “text messages regarding elections policy, governance, or oversight.”  My understanding is that Ms. Nuriddan’s contract with the city requires she retain all project communications and that such communications are property of the City.  Accordingly, it would seem Ms. Nuriddan is in (material) breach of her contract.  I will leave it to readers to decide whether Ms. Nuriddan’s alleged deletion of texts is truthful or not.  To date, Ms. Nuriddan has shown refreshing integrity; however, deletion of her text messages certainly now calls her integrity into question.

So the plot around Milton’s elections thickens.  If the plot thickens any more, you won’t be able to cut it with a chain saw.

Advocating For Elections Integrity,

Tim

Note:  I have long prided myself on keeping the Milton Coalition Blog strictly non-partisan.  In local politics and governance, I have always prioritized principles over party, politics, and partisanship.  I will continue to adhere to non-partisanship with my blog posts.  However, because of the partisan sensitivities around elections, I feel compelled to explain my political leanings to demonstrate my independence and objectivity.  I am an independent, Libertarian-leaning, Constitution-loving, patriotic, Ronald Reagan Conservative and proud of it.  (I proudly served our great nation as a US Navy nuclear submarine officer for nearly 8 years.) However, right is right.  Basic rights and fairness are at stake.  The election issues I am exposing transcend party and politics.  I refuse to stand by and let certain council members and political partisans destroy the fairness and integrity of Milton’s elections.