The DeKalb County Elections Office has officially completed its move to the county complex.
The DeKalb Elections Office initially requested over a year ago to be moved out of the county courthouse due to security measures that were implemented. DeKalb County Administrator of Elections Dustin Estes said it took several months, as the portion of the county complex required an estimated $98,600 project to finish out the office space.
“We have new office furniture, newly painted walls, new flooring, so it’s very clean, very professional, and I believe that the citizens when they come into our office will be very pleased with what they see,” Estes said.
Monday was the first day for the elections office at the new location. Estes said it is refreshing to have the move completed.
“It took about six months to get approval, just the location, getting approval to actually decide on the location that we were moving to,” Estes said. ” And then there were several months where no contractors bid on the project, so it took some time. It was slow-moving at first, and then it picked up speed towards the end.”
Estes said the major improvement from the old office is the amount of space.
“Our old location as old as it was, back then, elections didn’t require the equipment that we require today,” Estes said. “As technology increases, so does the infrastructure that supports that technology, so we require much more space. While at the courthouse, we occupied a lot of different closets along the bottom floor, three different office spaces, we occupied the lower courtroom during early voting and election day. Now, we have our own space. We don’t have to share that with anyone, and we’ve got less small spaces and more big spaces.”
Estes said there is more parking available as the office will not have to share the parking with the court system. The elections office is located in the back of the county complex. Estes said being in the back of the county complex is a good thing, as no one will have to stand outside in bad weather while waiting to vote.
Estes said it took a week for the elections office to move in as they struggled with moving equipment and records. Estes thanked local officials and the DeKalb County Commissioners for assisting in moving the elections office.
