PLEASE MAKE NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING BEFORE YOU READ:
This is a summary of the 9-page report Durden downloaded from the County’s website as a PDF. When she went back to get the link, she received notification of an out-of-date SSL that made the site vulnerable.
Excerpts from the report are quoted verbatim with the exception of language that bridges sections or shortens repetitive phrases and which will be enclosed in brackets such as [these], but will not in any way change the meaning. Ellipses, that is these three dots…, are between sections to show there is content between the two connected sections, but these will not change the meaning of the material. “We” and “us” as used refers to the Office of the County Auditor as they refer to themselves in the report.
COMMENTARY FROM DURDEN WILL BE CLEARLY MARKED AS SUCH SO NO CONFUSION ARISES BETWEEN REPORT LANGUAGE AND EDITORIAL COMMENTARY. Any bold or italicized words in the report are solely placed there at the discretion of Durden simply to guide the reader’s eye to certain phrases they may find important. These were not included in the report and should not be construed as having been implied by the Office of the County Auditor. All Internet links are provided by Durden.
Report date: August 2, 2021
INTRODUCTION:
In accordance with the 2021 approved Audit Plan, the Office of the County Auditor performed a financial review of the Registration and Elections Department.
BACKGROUND:
The Registration and Elections Department is responsible for overseeing the allocation of voting machines, managing polling locations, ensuring the accessibility, integrity and efficiency of the polling process and many other tasks to ensure elections run smoothly….[working] diligently with federal, state and other local election authorities to ensure the safety and security of the voting systems….[striving] to administer elections in a way that is accurate, safe, secure and accessible for all voters.
OBJECTIVE OF REVIEW:
“…to verify that funds allocated to the department by the Board of Commissioners were used as intended. Additionally, we ensured that grant funds awarded to the department were expended in accordance with grant requirements.
GRANTS RECEIVED:
The Registration and Elections Department received three grants; one (1) from Southern Poverty Law Center…and two (2) from the Center for Tech and Civic Life…”
METHODOLOGY and FINDINGS
Durden Summary of Methodology: Twelve-point audit included staff interviews, day-to-day key processes and procedures walkthroughs, budget process, Poll Worker Manual, and more.
FINDINGS:
- Finding 1 — Lack of Departmental Standard Operating Procedures: [The Office of the County Auditor was] not provided with departmental SOPs that outlined routine tasks for employees….SOPs are intended to improve accountability….procedures submitted…were not complete…and not dated and the purpose was not clearly defined. It appears that management has not drafted and approved departmental standard operating procedures nor communicated these procedures to staff….The lack of departmental SOPs may impeded the timely completion of routine tasks, decrease efficiency, and hinder quality through systemic homogenization….SOPs will prove to be ineffective and unused if they are not current, aligned with State guidelines, and properly implemented.
- Finding 2 — Inconsistent Procurement Procedures: Upon reviewing purchasing documentation from the department, it was noted that purchase orders were generated after the receipt of the invoices from the vendor for approximately $2.4 million of the $4.4 million sample selected.
- Finding 3 — Untimely Payment of Invoices: 83% [of invoices] were not submitted timely for payment….During our review of the grant funds, we noted that six (6) out of fifty-one (51) or 12% of the invoices were not paid timely. Management [said it was because of] the complexity of the elections.
- Finding 4 — Lack of Supporting Documentation: We sampled invoice files for transactions that occurred during the scope of our audit and noted the department did not maintain records for professional services, including overtime, totaling $1,965,260….Management informed us that the verbal agreement between Fulton County and the Vendor for these professional services was $450K; however, Fulton County was billed 4 times that amount.
- Finding 5 — Improper Payment of Services: In the course of our review of financial transactions, we noted that seven invoices were billed to Atlanta Public Schools from American Facility Services, and paid by Fulton County….Fulton County had an arrangement with Atlanta Public Schools to provide polling sites disinfection services. However, the department was unable to provide a written copy of an agreement to verify that an arrangement was in place that obligated the County to pay for said services.
- Finding 6 — Inadequate Safeguarding of Assets: We performed an onsite audit of inventory which consisted of 260 Cradlepoint Routers at a cost of $365 each, totaling $94,900. We noted that fifteen (15) or 6% of the routers could not be physically located. We were informed that the routers may have been sent to the wrong department…however, as of the report date, the department has not located these items.
- Finding 7 — Failure to Comply with Grant Requirements: Return of Unused Funds: An $85,000 grant from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) [was to be used] for the sole purpose of purchasing (25) absentee ballot drop boxes and accompanying video surveillance cameras….During our review, we identified that (21) ballot drop boxes were purchased…for a total cost of $40,614….as of the date of our review, the remaining $44,386 had not been returned to the SPLC and the funds remain in the…Department’s budget.
- Finding 8 — Failure to Comply with Grant Requirements: Obligation Not Satisfied: The SPLC grant also specifies as a grant requirement, that “the County provide a direct link to the Fulton County website, displaying the amount of absentee ballots that were returned to the Registration and Elections Board, for the 2020 general election, using the absentee ballot drop boxes. The link should also indicate how many ballots were accepted and counted.” We did not locate the information on the County’s website and the department did not provide documentation to support any public disclosure.
- Finding 9 — Inadequate Departmental Accountability and Oversight of Financial Transactions: Our audit revealed that there were inadequate departmental accountability and oversight over the financial operations with the department during the scope of our audit. There were errors…in the departmental accounting records, invoices that preceded purchase orders, untimely payment of invoices, insufficient supporting documentation, overpayment for services, and delayed responses to our requests. [Management said] many of these transactions were not handled under their purview.
Durden Commentary Begins Here
The conclusion is clear. Sloppy accounting procedures and lack of documentation and training of personnel leads to the establishing of potential slush funds, actual miscounting of votes, misuse of taxpayer funds, and destruction of voter confidence resulting in a chaotic political and financial mess in Fulton County, Georgia, making voters ripe for abuse. Casual incompetence allowed those in charge to be manipulated by whoever waved the most money in their faces.
Not surprised at this are those who live in or near Fulton County, Georgia, and who know the history of mayoral, staff, and board member criminal behavior that has come to light through the years. We even had one mayor go to prison. Bill Campbell had everybody fooled including a popular (but now-retired) nationally-syndicated talk radio personality who invited Bill to host his radio show and thought he was a good guy. Neal Boortz was furious when he found out what a criminal he was. Another former mayor is currently under investigation for, among many other things, wire fraud.
Atlanta politicians are merely wannabe criminals compared to Chicago’s and a few other cities’ politicians, but then again, maybe they just haven’t been caught quite yet. Good manners, lineage, and a pretty public smile do go a long way in hiding the evil within.
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Born and raised in Georgia, Angela K. Durden is an author, publisher, editor, songwriter, performer, and more, living in the Metro Atlanta, Georgia, area. Support your Citizen Journalist and visit her Consolidated Author Page and buy a book. See more about Angela here. Want to watch a fun video? Click here.
