Ex-Georgia elections director under investigation for role in 2020 is hired to run another vote: report

A former Georgia election director whose role in the aftermath of the 2020 election is under investigation has been hired to run a special election in another county, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Misty Hampton in her previous role as election director in Coffee County allowed tech experts hired by former Donald Trump attorney Sidney Powell to copy confidential election data in January, 2021, the report said.

The data was later distributed through a file-sharing website to advance conspiracy theories.

Hampton’s hiring to run a Treutlen County special election has drawn scrutiny from other elections officials, according to the report.

The AJC’s Mark Niesse writes that, “Investigators for the secretary of state’s office took Treutlen County’s elections server in April after learning Hampton had managed special elections there in spring 2021. It’s unknown whether Hampton allowed outside access to elections equipment in Treutlen as she did in Coffee.”

A spokesman for the secretary of state’s office confirmed to the AJC that the Treutlen County server investigation is ongoing.

“This office takes elections security seriously and wants to preserve public trust,” Mike Hassinger told the outlet.

Treutlen County Manager T.J. Hudson told the AJC he hadn’t sought the County Commission’s approval before hiring Hampton. She is being paid $20,000 for the temporary job, the report said.

“You have to have a certified person to run elections in the county. We didn’t have anybody that we could reach out to. I reached out to her,” Hudson told commissioners during a June 5 meeting. “There have not been any problems.”

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