Cobb County elections director Janine Everly announces retirement
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Cobb County is on the hunt for the next elections director after current director Janine Eveler announced her retirement.
Serving as director for 12 of the 18 years with the county, Everly says she will leave her position after the March special election for Mableton Mayor and City Council Members,
During her tenure, Eveler navigated the county elections department through a slew of challenges, including changes to state election laws, false allegations of election fraud and severe staffing shortages during the pandemic. In 2021, the Georgia Association of Voter Registration and Elections Officials recognized Eveler for “excellence in elections administration.”
During the 2020 election, Cobb County Elections had a bullseye on its back when a massive absentee ballot audit was launched and a lawsuit was filed by the Donald Trump camp challenging the legitimacy of the presidential election.
In 2022, Eveler went before a special grand jury in Fulton investigating criminal interference in Georgia’s election process, which concluded this month. Cobb Elections found itself under the microscope leading up to the November General Election for failing to mail out thousands of absentee ballots in time for the Nov. 8 general election and the Dec. 6 runoff, redistricting errors on ballots, and a missing memory card.
Lawsuits were filed by civil rights organizations and residents following the ballott errors which resulted in the county agreeing to a consent order requiring the department to give affected voters more time to return their ballots.
Said Everly in a statement on her impending departure, “I am very proud of the accomplishments that I and the Elections department have achieved and appreciate the opportunity to serve the citizens of the best county in Georgia.”
Everly is the fourth metro Atlanta elections director to step down since 2021. Fulton, Gwinnett and DeKalb Counties have all seen their elections’ directors depart within the past two years.
