Updated at 10 a.m. on Friday.
Rick Barron managed two of the most significant and scrutinized elections in Fulton County’s history without major incident, weathering conspiracy theories spread by former president Donald Trump, as well as lawsuits, death threats, and a pandemic.
But on Tuesday, the county’s board of registration and elections voted 3-2 in favor of firing Barron, going against the wishes of the Fulton election director’s staff, who in recent days signed onto a letter in support of their boss.
In their letter, the staff described overcoming a pandemic, death threats, hostile poll watchers, a coronavirus outbreak in the county’s warehouse, and the death of a beloved employee in order to conduct a “fair and unbiased election.”