Fault of Certification Glitch in Stephens County disputed by Registrar, Board of Electors

Stephens County Registrar says glitch in Secretary of State’s system caused delay in County certifying August 11th election results.

Stephens County Registrar Eureka Gober initially told WNEG News about the glitch after hearing complaints that Stephens County was the last to certify the vote; however, in an email on Monday, Gober says the basis of the complaint is not true and the reason for the confusion was due to a glitch in the State’s system.

That glitch, according to Gober, was on the Secretary of State’s side.

In the email to WNEG News, Gober writes quote “I just want you all to know that we (the Stephens County Registrar’s Office and Board of Electors) did nothing wrong in certifying the election, we went by procedures,” end quote.

However, Stephens County Board of Election Republican Representative Lori Jones, tells a different story.

Jones told WNEG News on Tuesday that she spoke to Secretary of State Representative Robin Carr about the apparent glitch.

“Robin (Carr) with the Secretary of State’s Office, notified us to let us know what had happened with the certification because we had been told, and when I say we, that would be Sean Black and myself who are both on the board, that the certification took place at 5:05  p.m. Monday evening; but, according to the Secretary of State’s website on Tuesday, it was not reflecting that at all,” Jones said. “So, it created confusion. Robin was very good to walk us through and to explaine that there’s a final button that needs to be pushed that says ‘this is it, this is our final tabulation, this is what we’re sending to you for certification’ and at the moment that that happens it actually closes it out, as far as the Registrar’s Office you can’t go back in and make any edits, its done, and that had not happened.”

Jones added that the finalization button is not a new function.

“I questioned Robin, because I wanted to know if this was a new procedure, if this was because we got all new software from the Secretary of State’s Office, of course state-wide everyone has new machines, and new software to learn. She emphasized that while we might be operating with new equipment, the procedure in itself and the software the Secretary of State’s Office is using, that (Finalization Function) has not changed. This is something that the Registrar’s Office should have known,” Jones said.

WNEG News will continue to follow this story and bring you additional details as they become available.