Getting rid of the long lines and backlog of absentee ballot requests from last June’s primary elections meant Fulton County had to spend a lot of money. The county doubled its budget for elections, spending more than $40 million. It also used private grants from a group largely funded by the CEO of Facebook.
“I think it was $10.5 million in grants. It helped us to get two mobile units, and we were able to smoothly get training done,” said Fulton County Commissioner Khadijah Abdur-Rahman.
But the next election could be different. Republicans who control the Georgia Legislature want to ban private grants and prohibit mobile voting units as part of House Bill 531. That concerns Abdur-Rahman, a Democrat.