Established Fact
The Elections Group LLC, an election consulting firm, was embedded inside Fulton County election operations for the 2020 general election pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding carrying a nominal consideration of $1.00. The MOU was approved by the Fulton County County Attorney’s Office and County Manager’s Office, rather than voted on by the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections (FCBRE) — the body that, under O.C.G.A. § 21-2-40, holds the powers and duties of the election superintendent for Fulton County. A State Election Board investigation resolved a subsequent complaint that Elections Group personnel lacked contractor status, finding the County Attorney/Manager approvals sufficient — though the question of whether board-level authorization was separately required remains contested. Elections Group personnel, including Ryan Macias, Geetha Lingham, Omar Sheikh, and Mike Pendergast, were present during Logic and Accuracy testing of Dominion voting equipment and had access to election management systems during the 2020 election cycle. The MOU authorized “on-site limited project management and implementation support,” including mail ballot processing, in-person voting plans, and “overall implementation support,” with Elections Group working “with the full support of the Fulton County Department of Registration and Elections Leadership.”
Citations
Memorandum of Understanding between Fulton County Department of Registration and Elections and The Elections Group LLC, 2020, reproduced as Exhibit 14 in Georgia Secretary of State, Report of Investigation, SEB2023-025, Fulton County Tabulator Results 2020 (investigation completed 2024), available via Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/document/874573732/SEB2023-025-Report-of-Investigation-Combined. MOU text: engagement start date August 3, 2020; consulting fee of $1.00; scope includes “implementing model mail ballot processing plans, in-person voting plans, poll worker training plans, and overall implementation support.”
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-40 (2024 Code of Georgia), https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-21/chapter-2/article-2/part-1/subpart-2/section-21-2-40/ . Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections authority as election superintendent confirmed in Fulton County Government Board description, https://fultoncountyga.gov/-/media/Departments/Clerk-to-the-Commission/Boards_Authorities/Board-of-Registration-and-Elections-6-2-21.ashx , and affirmed in Fulton County Superior Court filing, https://www.fultonclerk.org/DocumentCenter/View/10060/14-BRIEF-09-30-2024 .
Georgia Secretary of State, Report of Investigation, SEB2023-025 (Investigative Findings, Complaint #4, p. 11): “The allegation that Ryan Macias was not a contractor with the Fulton County Board of Elections and Registration was unsubstantiated. The Respondent provided a Memorandum of Understanding signed off by the County Attorney’s Office and the County Manager’s Office approving Ryan Macias to serve as a consultant for Respondent during the 2020 Election cycle.” https://www.scribd.com/document/874573732/SEB2023-025-Report-of-Investigation-Combined.
Kevin Moncla and Joseph Rossi, Complaint to the Georgia State Election Board, “Failure to Perform Logic & Accuracy Testing & Insertion of Test Ballots for 2020 General Election & Recount” (Oct. 7, 2024), pp. 3–4: “Ryan Macias and the Elections Group participated and oversaw Dominion staff L&A testing the tabulators used for Election Day” and names Geetha Lingham, Omar Sheikh, and Mike Pendergast as having access. NOTE TO AUTHOR: This document is an advocacy complaint by Kevin Moncla and Joseph Rossi, known election-skeptic advocates whose broader claims about Fulton County have been extensively disputed. It is not a finding of any court or administrative body. The complaint is available at: https://www.scribd.com/document/803314764/No-Logic-Accuracy-testing-and-Test-Ballots-were-counted-Complaint-Fulton-10-08-2024.