State Elections Board Meeting on Jan 21, 2026

On January 21, the Georgia State Election Board (SEB) held a marathon meeting that stretched late into the evening and covered a sweeping range of issues from side stepping the Secretary of State (SOS) and threatening Georgia voters’ privacy to advancing proposals that would make voting harder across the state. The Common Cause Georgia Policy team was there for the entire meeting. Our Policy Director, Kyle Gomez-Leinweber, spoke during public comment to defend Georgia voters and call out proposals that undermine access, privacy, and public trust. Here are some of the most important things that happened during the nearly 11 hour meeting: The Board approved a resolution urging voter data sharing with the U.S. Department of Justice The SEB voted to approve a resolution encouraging the Georgia Secretary of State to provide Georgia’s voter registration data to the DOJ. The Secretary of State has already released multiple public statements standing with Georgia voters and the law against this request from DOJ, and Common Cause is suing the DOJ over this same request. CCGA, and allies, raised significant concerns about Georgia law prohibiting the release of unredacted personal identifying information, and about the DOJ’s reported plans to share that data with unnamed third-party vendors and other agencies. Despite those unresolved legal and privacy questions, the resolution passed. The Board voted to recommend eliminating absentee ballot dropboxes statewide The SEB also passed a resolution recommending that the Georgia General Assembly permanently eliminate absentee ballot dropboxes and further restrict where absentee ballots may be returned. This is part of a broader voter suppression strategy rooted in debunked conspiracy theories from the 2020 election. The truth is dropboxes are already limited, monitored, and secure, and eliminating them would disproportionately affect voters who face barriers such as unreliable mail service, work constraints, disabilities, or transportation challenges. New efforts to limit and police public participation were raised Late in the meeting, Salleigh Grubbs, in her first meeting as a member of the SEB, proposed prominently posting a Georgia criminal statute warning that individuals who knowingly make false statements to a government agency could face fines or prison time. While framed as a transparency measure, the proposal raised concerns about chilling public comment and intimidating voters, advocates, and experts who participate in SEB meetings. The motion was ultimately withdrawn and tabled until a future meeting. The Board signaled upcoming hearings and expanded scope The SEB previewed several future actions, including: A special public meeting focused on Senate Bill 189, which concerns the removal of QR codes and the transition to hand-marked paper ballots Possible hearings related to special elections using hand-marked ballots Ongoing disputes with the Secretary of State’s office over access to data and training systems Continued discussions about voter registration enforcement tied to jury service and citizenship reporting These discussions suggest the Board intends to continue expanding its role even as members openly acknowledged exhaustion, confusion over authority, and unresolved legal questions. Common Cause Georgia spoke out During public comment, Common Cause Georgia Policy Director Kyle Gomez-Leineweber warned the Board against actions that undermine voter access or privacy without improving election security. Kyle emphasized that: Georgia’s elections are already secure, verified, and lawful Sharing voter data without clear legal authority or safeguards risks privacy violations and voter intimidation Eliminating dropboxes would not improve security, but would make voting harder for many eligible Georgians Oversight must be evidence-based, transparent, and focused on strengthening, not weakening, public trust This meeting showed a clear trend. Instead of focusing on practical, voter-centered election administration, the State Election Board is increasingly advancing proposals rooted in distrust, punishment, and relitigation of settled issues. That approach risks: Discouraging voter participation Intimidating local election officials and community members Undermining confidence in elections that are already secure Common Cause Georgia will continue to monitor every SEB meeting, and advocate for policies that protect both election integrity and the right to vote. You can sign up to join us monitoring or to give public testimony at a future SEB meeting here. Thank you for staying engaged and standing with us. In solidarity, The Common Cause Georgia team