Remarks by Bridget Thorne
112 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 4 of 5
- Play at 1:15:15
“Oh, per quarter's 50. Per quarter's 50. So it should be 100.”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 1:15:18
“So we should be at 100 net new hires, and we're not. Correct. Yeah, I appreciate the amount of detail that you've provided us. In a meeting with the sheriff yesterday, he expressed a dislike for Wall's group. Do you understand any of his frustrations? Has he spoken to you directly about that?”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 1:15:52
“Okay, and then he also said that the success that the Walls Group had in recruiting in Philadelphia is completely different than our situation here in Fulton County. Are you aware what those differences might be?”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 1:18:33
“Okay, because we hired the walls group as commissioners because we saw the need the crisis that exists in our jail situation and the need for more detention officers. But the sheriff, I'm glad he doubled his number of investigators to try to speed along the process. That's very helpful. But are there any other actions the sheriff is doing as far as recruitment to really expand his recruitment, change his process, despite having the Walsh Group?”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 1:19:49
“But I think he added the lie detector test recently, like in the past. Are you hired a full-time polygrapher?”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 1:20:10
“Okay, so the Walls Group was recommended by our monitor. We're trying to get out of the consent decree. So we're trying to do and appease the monitor. In the event that the sheriff decides that he just doesn't wanna work for the Walls Group, do we have any other avenues? Does he have any other avenues to help this desperate situation that we're in in hiring detention officers?”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 1:21:17
“Okay, thank you for that. I appreciate your presentation today.”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 2:19:15
“I agree that communication hasn't been the best. I represent all of Johns Creek and I got an email last Monday morning that they were setting having hearings for their millage rate at 11 o'clock. I quickly contacted the mayor to make him aware that we have this issue and that we were gonna pass this TCO. He was unaware. I told him to call our tax commissioner to get clarification because he was asking me questions and I by no means am an expert on this in advisement. So I think there was lack of communication between, I know for sure with Johns Creek, I checked with Alpharetta. Alpharetta…”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 2:21:40
“Okay, because that would be great if we could get this.”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 2:21:48
“Okay, thank you. I appreciate that clarification on that. But yeah, just make sure we're doing everything we can to help the assessor's office get these assessments in a timely fashion. And I do agree with the confusion with the TCO that we're gonna get a lot of questions. When am I getting a second bill? I have sympathy for the school board who has a budgeting process that goes July 1 to July 1. They're blindly having to set budgets and they have all the simplifications with these new tax breaks for seniors. They don't know how their tax digest has been affected by that. And I'm supportive…”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 2:31:10
“Thanks for being here today, Nadine. I just have the questions. We're using Abacus and we used to use Dover. Is there a reason we're not using Dover anymore?”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 2:31:31
“To have one vendor, okay. And then with this department temporary staff, you have 298 employees listed here. Are some of those couriers?”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 2:31:56
“So there was a public comment here made today about couriers picking up ballots every day of early voting, breaking the seals, physically counting, not tabulating, but physically counting the ballots. Are those temp workers that are involved in that process?”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 2:32:38
“And when they pick up those ballots, are there two couriers per?”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 2:32:56
“Okay, is there anything else you'd like to kind of clear up or misinformation-wise?”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 2:33:13
“Yeah, that would be great, because I know you addressed it in your last board, I think it was your last board meeting last month, why you are collecting them, counting them, and re-scanning them, and replacing the ballot images, so it'd be good for us to have a written...”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 2:33:36
“Yes, I understand we did 18,800 or so re-scans this last election.”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 2:33:45
“And then when we started, if you could give us a history too of when we started this process, because I understand we started it in 2024. And who's giving you the directive is Secretary of State's office too, would be good. Sure, will do. That would be great, thank you.”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 2:39:58
“I was just going to see if you could kind of elaborate on that process. When you bring them back to the hub and you physically cut the seals and physically count them, are there poll watchers there to watch the process?”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 2:40:24
“And it's done in the tabulation, the fishbowl room, or where is it done?”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 2:40:33
“So the caged area. I believe when I came there to watch the intake or observe the intake of the early voting equipment, because our early voting equipment comes in on Friday and sits there until Tuesday until it can be tabulated. Nobody was allowed back in the, not even a, Board of Registration elections member was allowed to go back and see where the ballots were stored. So if you are re-scanning them back in the ballot cage, is there a change to the process? Like can the public go back there and see that?”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 2:41:31
“people are unaware that over 12,000 ballots were scanned and ballot images replaced.”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 2:41:54
“The re-scanning is not the same thing as... Yeah, the counting on the first, the chain of custody... see it's resealed by somebody in the warehouse could be a temp worker and then when you have to do the re-canvas you're taking those ballots if they're off like say if you had 200 ballots but you're at 199 so there's there's the”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 2:43:13
“Okay, yeah, because as a candidate who was on the ballot in the primary and you re-scanned almost 19,000 ballots and replaced the ballot images, I was not made aware of that. So in the future, like this coming election, candidates will be made aware of a re-canvas of a precinct?”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026
- Play at 2:43:37
“Okay, whatever, whenever you have to rescan because you're missing one ballot and you have to rescan them and replace those ballot images so that if I go and vote in a precinct, my original scan that i did could be replaced by a future scan that's done if you want to see your original you can put in an open records request but again it's not deleted okay yeah well that's good that the original ballot scans aren't deleted so that's some good clarification to have too thank you”
Board of Commissioners · Jul 15, 2026