Married to Elections: Meet the Couple Keeping GA Elections Free & Fair

In this episode, our new elections expert co-host Tate Fall sits down with Akyn and Noah Beck, a married couple serving as election directors in neighboring Georgia counties, to talk about what it really takes to run free and fair elections.

From rebuilding voter trust to recruiting poll workers with limited resources, they share how local election officials keep things running—often behind the scenes and under pressure. They also tackle misinformation, public trust, and what they wish every voter understood. At the heart of it all: election officials are your neighbors, and they care deeply about getting it right.

Interested in the NextGen Election Leaders initiative? Visit: keepourrepublic.org/nextgen

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Welcome back to Keepers of our Republic, a new weekly podcast from Keep Our Republic that takes listeners inside the institutions at the heart of American democracy. Every week, Keepers of Our Republic features thoughtful conversations with election administrators and retired federal judges. We explore how elections are really run, discuss why an independent judiciary is essential to a strong republic, and separate fact from fiction in a fast-changing world. Learn more about Keep Our Republic, a nonpartisan nonprofit, at our website, https://keepourrepublic.org

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Our Republic is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization. Since the spring of 2020, we've been doing our part to help keep our republic. We do it through hyper-localized civic education. We talk with Americans through town halls, legal seminars, media briefings, and other events. We know a lot of Americans have a lot of questions about how our elections work, what safeguards are in place, and who actually is working behind the scenes on election night as the votes are being tabulated. And that's why we're really glad you're joining us today. Hopefully, we can answer some of those questions.

SPEAKER_03 0:38

Welcome back to Keepers of Our Republic, a weekly nonpartisan podcast talking to election officials and judges about defending the rule of law in free and fair elections, also known as How We Keep Our Republic. If this is your first time joining us, don't forget to hit that like and subscribe button and join us every week on Thursdays for these conversations. Today I'm joined by Aiken and Noah Beck, the dynamic power couple of Georgia Elections. Aiken is the director of elections in Floyd County, and Noah is the director of elections in Polk County. Thank you both for joining me today.

SPEAKER_02 1:10

Thank you for having us.

SPEAKER_01 1:12

Excited to be here.

SPEAKER_03 1:13

Awesome. So why don't you start off by telling our listeners a little bit about yourselves and what got you into elections? So, Aiken, you want to go first?

SPEAKER_02 1:21

Yeah, I started off at 16 in my hometown. Uh my aunt was the director of elections and she knew the poll workers as we all do. So I started off then. I haven't stopped. Haven't stopped since.

SPEAKER_03 1:33

I love it. I feel like I always tell people elections is there's so much nepotism and not in a negative way, but that's just how you get in elections, is how you because you have a family member that does it. So that's hilarious. Noel, what about you?

SPEAKER_01 1:47

Yeah. So um I I come from the politics side. So my background's in communications and uh I worked in the political arena a little bit and decided I hated that um after after undergrad and then tried to shift gears and go completely in a different direction doing um organizational communications for a large mental health provider, and the medical scene wasn't for me either. And so I was trying to figure out a way to get closer to politics and elections, but but find a way to still, you know, help people and feel good about what I did day over day. Um, and so it it kind of just happened. The the job came open in my hometown uh for elections, and um I put in an application and uh went through a lengthy interview process and and landed in Polk County in March of 2022. So been here ever since, not not going anywhere anytime soon, I don't think. Um, but yeah, just running from politics. I think there's a couple of us out there that have that have ended up uh in elections running from politics.

SPEAKER_03 2:50

Absolutely. I think it's funny whenever when I worked in elections and I would tell someone what I did, they would say, Oh, you work in politics? And I would say, no, I work in administration. It is very different. I always tell people I would ad I my job is administering tests. That's literally what I do. So it's very different. So I totally hear you on that. Um, so why don't you guys tell us a little bit about your counties, um, how many voters you have, your number of precincts, and your staff members, just so that we can get an idea of all the work you guys do.

SPEAKER_02 3:19

Yeah. Um, I have about 70,000 registered voters, um, give or take a few. I have 19 precincts for election day. I have anywhere from one to three early voting locations and uh five full-time staff members, including myself. And then we have around 250 poll workers, give or take, depending on the election. Wow, that's awesome. What about you, Noah?

SPEAKER_01 3:41

So we're we're just south of Floyd County down in Polk County, and we are a lot smaller. So um, in my jurisdiction, we've got about 30,000 voters, give or take. We run seven election day precincts, and then we always have two early voting locations. Um, one of the smaller counties with a guaranteed two in Georgia to due to our our size, the way our county's set up is two decently sized cities uh for Polk County. We've got two full-time staff um in Polk County, just two. Um, and then we have one part-time staff member um in the office as well.

SPEAKER_03 4:18

That's great. I know in Arlington, when I was in Arlington, we only had seven staff members. And what I liked about it is you got to learn so much. Like you really did touch everything. Like one thing that was tough in my last year edition because it was so big, I felt so removed from the actual fun parts of elections, like poll worker training and actually check, I got to check in voters, you know, during lunchtime when my early voting staff would go on their lunch break. And so I love that that kind of close-knit environment. And I know y'all's teams in both your counties are great and you guys do a lot of really cool stuff, and that the size of your county doesn't impact that at all, which is so great to see. I know in 2024, Aiken, you won a cleary award for your voter accessibility town hall. And for those of you who don't know, cleary awards are clearinghouse awards that are put out by the Election Assistance Commission. So these are awards that jurisdictions across the whole country submit in different categories, and they're judged by other election administrators. So you're judged by your peers and AKU won. So tell us about your voter accessibility town hall. I geeked out over this and I can't wait for our listeners to hear about it.

SPEAKER_02 5:24

Yeah, so um I started in Filet County in a really rough position. Fillet County was not doing uh great. They were coming off bad, bad press. The voters were, you know, not the bench treated and not very trustworthy of the process as a whole. Um there had been several organizations that reached out to me that said that there was a need that needed to be met. There's uh I partnered with a local independent women organization. And basically what we did is we had a town hall, we invited anyone, it didn't have to just be voters with disabilities. We explained their rights, their protections, how the process is working for Lake County and in Georgia as a whole. Um, and then we set up our accessibility voting machines so they could have hands-on training as well. Um, it was really beneficial, you know. There was a lot of face-to-face interactions that I otherwise would not have these voters. And it gave them a lot more confidence going into this voting, knowing that they could do it themselves or if they needed help, this is how they get it. Um, and just kind of how the voting process works for them. Because I mean it does seem to be fair and equal for everyone. Sometimes that means a little bit more resistance or you know, a different protection for them. But it was very, it was it was awesome. I'll I'm gonna do it again at uh 2026 at some point, probably later in the year.

SPEAKER_03 6:35

That's great. I love that. I think a lot of times, especially when you have new people that move to your county, you know, Georgia, we still vote on BMTs for now, anyways. Whereas when I was in Virginia, we had handmarked paper ballots, and those experiences are so different for voters for disabilities. And so just giving them that opportunity to have like a safe space where there's no pressure to try it out, try out the equipment and practice. And I hope that as Georgia goes into the procurement of new equipment, that they at the state level take that same idea from you and that when they're going through the procurement process, they bring in different stakeholder groups with disabilities. That way they could test out the equipment and they can let the secretary of state and the team know what they think works best. Cause I think that that input is really, really important. And I'm glad that you were recognized for that because it's totally awesome. And I wish every county did it, but I know it's a lot of work, especially when you have a small staff. So um I appreciate all the work you're doing there. And I love that both of you guys bring so much innovation to your roles. I think being kind of a fresh set of eyes and bringing in fresh ideas is really important. So, Noah, tell us about some things that you've done in Polk County to kind of help bring those fresh ideas to serve your voters and your people there.

SPEAKER_01 7:47

Yeah, yeah. So just right down the road from Floyd County, we um we caught strays is the best way to put it from some of the trouble that they had during the 2020 cycle. And uh we we suffer the same kind of mis and disinformation that that everybody is familiar with. Um the benefit that I had kind of going in is that um I I wasn't in election administration in 2022, and so I really did have an outsider's perspective. Um I didn't, I wasn't scarred from uh what so many in Georgia had to go through. And so I I approached the job with a lot of energy in um 2022, and that meant trying a whole lot of different things, and this is a story that you know everybody, everybody in election administration can relate to, but trying a dip a lot of different things, them not always working, going back to the drawing board and never and never getting uh defeated about that. But uniquely, Polk County uh in election administration is one of the most under-resource jurisdictions in the entire state of Georgia. So um we make uh a lot of miracles happen uh down here in Polk, and and that's kind of where we have uh driven most of our innovation out of, is just pure need. So um a lot of it looks like high impact, low resource um solutions to problems that didn't have solutions prior. I think uh the best example that we we have right now is probably this new poll worker recruitment initiative that we have. Um we had a whole public information campaign about pole worker resources, about the need, about the consequences for not having the appropriate resources. And we're seeing um a whole different response out of our local government and our decision makers up top. And it's something that we're really proud of right now, and we're trying to build on that momentum, but it it kind of speaks to, you know, when when it has to get done, it has to get done. And that's the attitude that so many election administrators bring to the table. And uh, we found a way to make it happen. Our poll worker numbers are rising every day. Um, and it and it goes back down to clear, uh, well-planned strategic communication in different venues with different shareholders that weren't always reached. We're going places we haven't gone before, into communities and churches that we haven't been into uh before, into civic groups that haven't heard from us. We're going into our high schools, we're going into our uh clubs and our uh service organizations and our high schools and recruiting there. And then we're keeping our decision makers accountable to uh with the resources that they're providing us to supplement those poll workers, telling people that this is what they get paid. These are the resources that we have to uh recruit. And so this year specifically, we have finally seen some really great movement on that. Um, I was able to share at the Gaibrio conference, the statewide conference in Georgia, that we just saw a 66% increase in compensation for those poll workers. Um, and then we still expect more to be coming down the pipeline as we finish out our fiscal year and go through the budget negotiation process. So a lot of different innovation, but a lot, a lot of it because we're poor, to be, to be uh specific, is because we're poor down here.

SPEAKER_03 10:59

Yeah, I mean, that's I think that's what's so tough. And what I've said this, I know we've talked about this before, is I think sometimes election officials' greatest strength of resiliency and flexibility can also be our Achilles heel because the legislature and decision makers, like you said, they know we can make anything happen. So they're like, they don't need that much. They, you know, they did 2020 and they did this and they're doing it fine just now, but that doesn't mean give me more money, you know? And so you can always obviously do more with more resources, but I think sometimes us just being so good at our jobs and being able to take whatever's thrown at us sometimes can be hard because legislators are like, oh, well, they don't they don't need that or they don't need that much funding, you know. So I think that that's one thing I love about Gavrio. I know you guys both are super involved in Gabrio and you're, you know, communicating with your legislators. I know Aiken, you've had open houses where your local, like your state and federal legislators can come and visit. And Noah, you're always calling and talking to your people. And that's great because I think it translates to the work that Gavrio, the state association, is trying to do to communicate to these legislators to let them know, hey, that's not gonna work. And um, we know that that's a problem we often have here in Georgia. So it's uh, you know, like I said, we're doing what we can, but we could always do more if we had more. So we'll see what uh what comes comes next with our legislators. But um I'd love to talk a little bit about, you know, some things that you would love your voters to know. I know that you guys do so much work as you've talked about, going out in your community, talking with your voters. Sometimes we feel like a broken record, kind of saying the same things over and over again. But I'd love to know if there is one thing that you would really like voters, you know, listening to the podcast, whether they're in Georgia or in other states as well, what you would like them to know, like a common misconception you want to clear up or just kind of set their record straight on.

SPEAKER_02 13:00

Um, I think that for me it's it's very important that voters plan to vote. They're changing laws, especially in Georgia, changing rules in Georgia, and we're not doing that because you know, we want you to be confused. We're not we're not closing on Good Friday because we want you to to miss that day. Like we're under very tight constraints, so it's very important that you guys take a second, make a plan to vote. Every state's different, and voting is a state's right, so it's it's different everywhere, and and sometimes we have holidays or the SP changes the rules or we have a new set of laws coming out, and we're not doing that to to stop you from voting. We're doing that because we have to, and we just I just hope that everyone makes a plan to vote. It's pretty to the information about locations and times and and the constraints that we're all under.

SPEAKER_03 13:49

Yeah, totally agree. What about you, Noah? What do you think?

SPEAKER_01 13:52

Well, I'll I'll shamelessly plug for for Aiken and my sake, real quick, the My Voter page. Um, here in Georgia, it's a wonderful tool. If you're a Georgia listener, uh mb.sos.ga.gov. It's got all of the information uh that you need your location, voting times, drop box, locations, and hours. It's got sample ballots, absentee applications on it. It's got everything that you could possibly need. And that's uh the best resource talking about making a plan to vote or um or really getting any information. It's kind of a one-stop shop in the Secretary of State, uh, really gets that right, that my voter page resource. But uh in Polk County, not to not to be on the nose about it, but genuinely we're the good guys. Um and and history will record it that way, regardless of what you hear or what what squeaky will is the loudest. Um, the people that show up every day to make your elections happen, um to perpetuate democracy in our state, uh in our country, in in your localities, in your counties, in your cities, we're the good folks. We're we're the referees, and you can hate the referees as much as you want to, but if they don't show up, the game doesn't happen. Um the people that you engage with when you go and vote, they are doing too much for too little to deal with um to deal with the worst of us and and the um and the and the most vain. I I will I'll say this, they're your neighbors, they're someone's kid, they're someone's parent, they're someone's grandparent. Nothing um that they are doing there is with malintent. Uh and even if you believe that I am part of some evil cabal or that I am uh stealing or rigging your election, whatever your taste is for missing different disinformation that day, uh you know, Sherry that works the poll pad is not doing that. Um, you know, Leonard that has sat by that scanner for 12 hours today asking you to check your ballot, he is not behind it. Those are good people doing good work for the voter's benefit. And that's the case in Georgia. That's the the case up and down the East Coast, across the country, um, in every jurisdiction where uh we're working hard to hold up the Constitution and uh your right to a free and fair election. That's the case. The people that are putting it on, we're the good guys. History is going to remember it that way, treat us that way. And if you won't treat me that way, fine, but please treat the poll workers that way. That your neighbors that show up to make this thing happen. Um, it's they're good people and they deserve to be treated like good people.

SPEAKER_03 16:23

Absolutely. I couldn't agree with you more. I think that's one of the hopes I have for having election officials on keepers is to show we are your neighbors, you know. We're behind you in the pew in church, we're in the next aisle over in publics, we're behind you in pickup line at the school, right? And we're not some group, you know, we do this, we we know we don't do it for the money, right? That's definitely not what it is. Um, but we do this because we care, you know. Aiken, you got into it because your family did it and you loved it. Noah, you saw the dark side in politics and you want to come to the light side, you know. You guys, you see the good and you you don't you show up every day to do that, to serve the voters in your county. And I think it's tough. And that's why I hope people can kind of get to know us as election officials and and see us and and kind of start to learn that. So I appreciate you guys coming on today. Thank you both for your time. Um, and thank you for our listeners for tuning in. We'll be back next week with another episode talking with more keepers of our republic. I also want to plug, since I have some fellow young folks in election administration on with me, uh, we do have a new next generation initiative through Keep Our Republic, which is going to be a national cohort for local election officials under the age of 35 as a way to come together, share resources, as we say, in Georgia fellowship, some time to get together and just get to know each other and have people across the country you can lean on and talk to. So if you're interested in that, if you're an election official under the age of 35 in the local level, you can apply and learn more at keeparrepublic.org/slash nextgen. Thanks so much.

SPEAKER_00 18:00

If you like this episode, please share it on social media and tell your friends. It's the best way for folks to find out about us. I hope you'll agree that our guest is indeed a keeper of the republic. If you want to learn more about how you can help keep our republic, stop on over to our website, keepourrepublic.org. Thanks so much for joining us to learn more about the safeguards in running our nation's elections.