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Bipartisan election nod draws partisan fire

The Fulton board chair, a Democrat, names a Republican to lead county election panel

ATLANTA — Fulton County commissioners aim to vote this week on a new chairman for its election board. The Democratic chairman of the board is nominating a Republican to chair the panel.  

It's a rare instance of bipartisan politics on a high-profile county board that has drawn, over the years, an abundance of partisan scrutiny. This move is no exception.

When Fulton County voters helped push Joe Biden past Donald Trump in the 2020 election, Trump and his operatives fixated on Fulton’s election count for scrutiny – even falsely singling out some of Fulton’s election workers for fraud allegations.  

Under chair Cathy Woolard, Fulton’s election board had a Democratic majority and set up up polling places and certified results in last year’s election. But Woolard is stepping aside. 

To replace her, Fulton county board of commissioners chairman Robb Pitts – a Democrat – plans to nominate a Republican, Lee Morris. Morris is a former Fulton county commissioner and Atlanta city council member, who has served with Pitts on both panels for many years.

"I would classify Lee very much as an independent thinker," described Republican Liz Hausmann, who served with him on the board of commissioners.

"He’s been very much a solid person that makes his decisions based on the facts," Hausmann continued. "He’s not an extremist on either side. I think he would be very very much an independent chairman of that board."

But Fulton Democrats posted a note opposing the nomination – taking Morris to task for casting a vote in support of SB 202, the election bill Republicans in the legislature passed in reaction to Trump’s loss in 2020; and that he voted against a resolution endorsing the federal John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which Republicans in Congress have blocked.

LeWanna Heard-Tucker, Fulton County's Democratic party chair, wants Pitts to choose a new nominee. 

Pitts did not respond to 11Alive's requests for comment.

Though Pitts is nominating Morris to lead the election board – Fulton’s county commission will have the final say in a vote Wednesday.

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