Forsyth Election Officials Honored For Working After Courthouse Attack

Provided, Georgia Secretary of State:

On Monday, May 4th, Barbara Luth, Mandi Smith, Betsy Brown and Kathy Howard were honored for their bravery and dedication at the annual meeting of the Georgia Election Officials Association in Savannah, GA.

On June 6th of last year, a man attempted to drive a van filled with weapons into the Forsyth County Courthouse with the goal of killing as many people as possible. Officer James Rush sustained a gunshot in his successful attempt to stop this crime.

Immediately following the shootout in front of the courthouse, the Forsyth County elections employees were told to grab their personal belongings and head home. However, this was the Friday before the deadline to send ballots to military and overseas voters, and the Forsyth County employees knew that they needed to go out.

Instead of just grabbing their things and going home, they packed up all of the absentee supplies and headed over to their warehouse. There they prepared the absentee ballot packages for all of their military, elderly, and disabled voters. They were unable to use the custom mailing machine in their office, because it was now a crime scene.

The ballots were then taken down to the post office and individually hand stamped by Forsyth County employees. Every ballot was mailed out before the federal deadline.

“These dedicated public servants risked their own safety in order to serve Georgia voters,” said Secretary of State Brian Kemp. “They will forever have my sincere respect and gratitude.”