Coffee Co. elections supervisor promises voter integrity after 2020 investigation

DOUGLAS, Ga. (WALB) - The Coffee County Elections Office got new voter equipment in after supporters of former President Donald Trump were given unauthorized access to it in violation of the law during the 2020 election.

After months of investigations, negative national press and allegations of voter fraud at the Coffee County Elections Office in 2020, the entire staff was replaced too.

Surveillance video showed former Coffee County Elections Chair Cathy Latham allowing a group of data collectors into the elections office. The video shows Latham in the office for hours as two men who are supporters of Trump set up computers near election equipment as they appeared to access certain voting data.

Investigators said this happened on the same day a voter breach was reported from the elections server and voting machines there.

Rachel Roberts, the new elections supervisor for Coffee County, said they still receive threatening phone calls.

“It’s been a little difficult at times. Mainly whenever it airs on the news, right after it airs, then we get phone calls for three or four days following it. And they’ve been real nasty phone calls saying, ‘you should be ashamed of yourselves’ and we’re like we weren’t here. We got a whole new staff,” Roberts said.

Roberts said she worked at the election’s office back in 2007 until 2011. Now that she’s come back with years of experience under her belt, Roberts said she feels confident that votes will be cast correctly.

Despite Coffee County elections office being put in a negative light nationally, Roberts said she doesn’t believe that affected early voter turnout. There have been over 5,000 votes cast so far.

She told WALB News 10 that there will be poll workers in the elections office on election night to ensure election integrity.

“They can either call up here the next day and make sure they’re given credit for voting, or they can go onto the Secretary of State website to my voter page and log in and see if they were giving credit,” she said.

Early voting ends on Nov. 4 and Election Day is Nov. 8.

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