Director for Fulton County elections office ousted after multiple problems in Georgia election

Georgia's Fulton County's Board of Registration and Elections voted Tuesday in favor of removing its election director following a mistake-marred and disputed 2020 election cycle.

The board removed Director Richard Barron in a 3-2 vote, according to 11alive.com.

Problems with balloting in the county emerged in the June primaries and resurfaced in the November General Election when incumbent President Trump narrowly lost the state to Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

The county's efforts were criticized by the state and the Trump campaign, which argued the results were tainted by voter fraud.

A similar vote against Barron was held last week but ruled invalid because it was taken in an executive, or private, session, 11alive.com also reports.

Dr. Kathleen Ruth, Mark Wingate, two Republicans, and board vice chair Vernetta Keith Nuriddin, a Democrat, voted to remove Barron.

Board Chairperson Mary Carole Cooney and Aaron Johnson, two Democrats, voted to retain him.

The county faced criticism in November and December over issues regarding election security, staffing, resources and ballot chain of custody.

Allegations of vote fraud at the State Farm Arena have remained unproven, but state officials had to sort out the issues, purportedly putting a huge strain on the county's election apparatus, with some workers facing harassment and death threats.

A server crashing during the recount also became an issue, with the state saying the county "literally ignored the basic instructions and the directions of the vendor."

The Secretary of State's Office said at the time the county "cut a corner" by using a Dominion Systems server that had been meant for testing, 11alive.com also reported.