State Election Board Dismisses Stephens Co. Case

The State Election Board has dismissed the case against Stephens County regarding its combining the Registrar’s Office and the Probate Judge’s office.

That is according to a spokesman for the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office.

Members of the State Election Board considered the case on Wednesday in Atlanta.

The Secretary of State’s office had been investigating Stephens County’s decision to combine the Registrar’s and Probate Court’s offices since June.

According to the incident report released by the Secretary of State’s Office, the investigation centered on whether Stephens County was running a full-time Registrar’s Office.

Earlier this year, Stephens County decided to move the Stephens County Registrar’s Office into the same office as Stephens County Probate Court.

Stephens County Administrator Phyllis Ayers said at the time that the election responsibilities of then-Stephens County Registrar Theresa Kelley would not change.

However, Ayers said that Kelley would also be available to assist in the Probate Court’s Office and employees in the Probate Court’s Office could be trained to help with elections if needed.

She said it was a move designed to save money in the county budget.

Currently, the position of Registrar and Elections Superintendent is being filled on a temporary basis after Kelley resigned from the job in August.

There is no word on when a full-time replacement might be named.