Nelson Daley

Macon-Bibb County Board of Elections’s office located at 3661 Eisenhower Pkwy Suite MB101, Macon, GA 31206.

Students in Mercer’s Civic & Community Journalism class reviewed agency websites and information to assess how transparent they are when it comes to making decisions about how taxpayer dollars are spent. The students also reviewed each agency’s adherence to Georgia’s open record and open government laws.

The Macon-Bibb Board of Elections was created in 1969. The board currently has six members: a chairperson, vice-chair, three members and an elections supervisor.

Based on the original constitution of the Board, a person who was elected into another office cannot serve as a member while they are in the middle of their term, which last two years. When the Board of Elections was created, the city of Macon had to pay the costs to hold any primary or election conducted solely for Macon. Bibb County also had to do the same. The Board became the Macon-Bibb Board of Elections when the two governments consolidated.

The Macon-Bibb Board of Elections controls the registration of voters while organizing the primaries and elections for Macon-Bibb County. They conduct elections, create the Macon-Bibb election schedule and give out public notices related to Macon-Bibb County elections.

The office oversees all local, state and federal elections in Macon-Bibb to include court judges, leadership in the Board of Education, leadership in the Macon Water Authority, judges of the superior court, state court, sheriffs, County Commissioners and mayor. Citizens can can find polling locations through their website. Additionally, the Board often holds early voting in locations like their office in the Macon Mall, the Elaine H. Lucas Senior Center, and the Theron Ussery Park Recreation Center.

Open Records Compliance

• 

  Records that were requested: The records requested were the salaries of the Board of Elections Members.
  

• When do you first hear back from the agency? The Open Records Request was submitted on April 2. and was followed with an automated message the same day stating they received request. The response was provided on April 10.
• Did agency request a fee? They did not ask for a fee.
• The response came in through email by Election Supervisor Thomas Gillon on April 11 and explained that all members are paid monthly but gave different rates. Gillion makes $69,737.20 annually as Election Supervisor. Karen Evans, Tom Ellington, and Robert Abbott as members make $165. Same with the salaries of Vice Chair Barbara Boyer and Chair Mick Kaplan who make $175 and $200 respectively.
  
• Grade for the ease of contacting agency staff and finding or filing for public records: D. There is no clear section on the Board of Election’s website to make a request and the Board’s office was called to figure out where exactly the open records request needed to be submitted. They do not have any contact information besides a main phone line. The line was redirected to Thomas Gillon where it went to voicemail. He did call back later that day to explain how to make an open records request through the Macon-Bibb County Government main website by selecting “Finance and Other Depts.”
• Grade for agency’s overall responsiveness and compliance with open records law: D A response was received five business days after submission. A follow up email was sent to Janice Ross, the Clerk of Commission a day before Thomas Gillon responded. The response was sent through a drafted email and not a document.

Public Transparency and Accessibility

• Macon-Bibb Board of Elections website
• The Board Members are listed on the meeting agendas, but their contact information is not listed on the website. There is no information on other staff members. 
  • Chairperson – Robert Abbott
  • Vice-Chair – Tom Ellington
  • Member – Barbara Boyer
  • Member – Karen Evans
  • Member – Mike Kaplan
  • Elections Supervisor – Thomas Gillon
• The agency does not have a public information officer listed. The only contact information listed is the office phone number: (478) 621-6622 and the office address: 3661 Eisenhower Pkwy, Suite MB101.
• The website lists the previous meeting agendas, but does not list a schedule for upcoming meetings.
• The meeting agendas are listed on their website. 
• There is a spot listed on the website for minutes, but the last minutes provided are from May 2025.
• There is a spot listed on the website for videos, but there are not any videos provided, although they do have a YouTube account not connected to the website where they post meeting videos.
• Besides YouTube, the Board of Elections does not have a specific social media.
• There is not a specific place to make an open records request for the Board of Elections, but a request can be made under “Finance and Other Depts.” on the Macon-Bibb County Government main website.
• On the website, there is information on polling locations, what someone needs to be able to vote, where to register to vote, how to get someone’s voter ID and Macon-Bibb County election results. They also give information on what a ballot looks like which is helpful for people who haven’t voted in Macon-Bibb County.
• Grade for Transparency – Unsatisfactory 
  • While the agency does have their meeting agendas and minutes posted, the regular meeting times are not posted in advance.
• Grade for Accessibility – Poor
  • The agency does not provide leadership contact on their website, only a main phone line, and they do not have a social media presence. They do not post meeting minutes, but they do post the meeting videos on Youtube, although it is not linked to their website.

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