Isolated districting bug affects Cobb precinct during early voting
COBB COUNTY, Ga. - Cobb County election officials discovered an isolated districting error in Sewell Mill 01 Precinct that placed voters into Georgia House District 43 instead of House District 37 for the current election cycle.
What we know:
Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration workers uncovered the districting mistake during an internal review.
The issue stems from an error made while uploading ballot combinations for the current election cycle, misallocating voters in Sewell Mill 01 Precinct.
Under state district maps enacted by 2023 HB 1EX, the entire Sewell Mill 01 Precinct belongs in Georgia House District 37.
Voters casting ballots at Sewell Mill 01 Precinct will see state Rep. Solomon Adesanya in the uncontested House District 43 race.
They should be seeing state Rep. Mary Frances Williams in the uncontested House District 37 race.
Why you should care:
Advance-In-Person Voting is already underway, making system-wide changes impossible in GARViS, Georgia's voter information database.
Election staff cannot reconfigure the precinct and district assignments in the state software mid-voting without disrupting ongoing operations.
Notices will be posted at Sewell Mill 01 Precinct and at every Advance Voting location across Cobb County to inform residents before they step into the voting booth.
The signs instruct voters to complete their ballots normally while noting that votes cast in the House District 43 contest by Sewell Mill 01 voters will not count toward that tally.
Big picture view:
Both state legislative races feature a single unopposed candidate, meaning the districting error cannot alter the final outcome of either contest.
Cobb County election workers audited surrounding precincts and confirmed the misconfiguration is isolated strictly to Sewell Mill 01 Precinct and affects no other races on the ballot.
Officials confirmed the technical issue was present only during the current election cycle.
Cobb Elections staff notified both candidates, both political parties, and the Georgia Secretary of State's office about the oversight.
What's next:
The Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration is self-reporting the issue to the State Election Board.
Board members pledged full transparency as staff finishes auditing all precinct ballot combinations and concludes the correction process.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration, which explained how officials discovered the districting error and issued public notices, as well as official statements sent to state election oversight bodies.