Tate Fall knows elections.
The new director of Cobb Elections, 29-year-old Fall did not envision becoming an administrator of American democracy.
As an undergraduate at Auburn University, she studied rehabilitation and disability studies with an eye toward Americans with Disabilities Act advocacy.
That changed when she went back to Auburn for a Master of Public Administration degree – Fall also wanted two more years of Tiger football – and the program director let her know there was only one fully funded research position … in election administration.
Fast forward two years, and Fall graduated with her MPA and a graduate certificate in election administration.
After a stint at the University of Alabama School of Law as a disability advocate, Fall moved to northern Virginia, where she worked for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. She then worked as assistant elections director for Arlington County, Virginia.
She was living just outside of Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, when the scenes of rioters storming the Capitol made Fall realize the most important aspect of an election administrator’s job: guaranteeing the safety for all involved in the hallmark of American democracy.
After a months-long search for former Cobb Elections Director Janine Eveler’s replacement, Fall got the call to make her way down to Cobb.
So far, she’s found a community that is more aware of its election system than most others, something Fall told the MDJ is important for transparency and accountability.
“They’re very plugged into what’s going on,” Fall said of Cobb voters. “We have a core group of citizens that attend all of our meetings and help hold us accountable to the promises we’ve made, which I think is very important. We serve them, and we need to be held accountable.”
Reorganizing the office
Fall noted Eveler knew Georgia election…
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