Suspect Arrested In Theft Of Cobb Elections Equipment

KENNESAW, GA -- A suspect linked to the theft of election equipment has been arrested, Cobb County officials said Wednesday.

Cobb detectives searched a Clayton County home and recovered a stolen cell phone in the investigation, leading to the arrest of a man about 1 a.m. Wednesday. Through interviews with the suspect and numerous associates, detectives learned that the thieves that got their hands on the election equipment deemed it "useless" and threw it in the dumpster.

Because the dumpster was subsequently emptied into an area land fill, Cobb officials have decided not to make an effort to retrieve the stolen equipment.

More: Georgia House Election Results: Dems, GOP Claim Win As Ossoff, Handel Face Runoff

“I deeply appreciate the thorough and swift actions of the Cobb County Police,” Chairman Mike Boyce said in a statement. “Their efforts complemented the work done by the Board and the County staff to assure the candidates and voters that the County was doing everything possible to protect the integrity of the voting process.”

The elections equipment was stolen over the weekend from a parked truck in a Kroger in Canton.

The theft was first brought to the public's attention Monday by Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who told local media that he wasn't notified of the incident until two days after it happened.

Like DeKalb's, Cobb's election operations in Tuesday's 6th District race ran relatively smoothly -- a far cry from Fulton, where numerous glitches delayed results until past midnight.

"We had a technical error with one of the memory cards, so we had to upload that again. It took us awhile," Richard Barron, Fulton's registration and elections director, told local media. "According to Kennesaw State, it's a very rare error that happens."

Kennesaw State University's Center for Election Systems supports voting systems around Georgia. The center made headlines in early March when the Federal Bureau of Investigation opened a probe into an alleged data breach. The FBI subsequently found that no laws were broken.

Read more: No Laws Broken In Kennesaw State Data Breach

When the smoke cleared, Democrat Jon Ossoff emerged somewhat as a victor, along with Republican Karen Handel, who cautioned that a fractious race with 18 candidates is one thing, but a runoff between two contenders will bring the full might of the GOP.

Read more: 6th District Results: Runoff Likely As Ossoff Drops Under 50 Percent

Image Joe Raedle / Getty Images News Staff