A fight over the Pledge of Allegiance has consumed the DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections weeks before the Nov. 3 general election.

The dispute packed the board's Thursday, Sept. 10 meeting with more than a dozen speakers on both sides. The board oversees elections for voters across DeKalb County, including Dunwoody and Brookhaven residents.

The controversy, first reported by WABE and Decaturish, started at the board's July 9 meeting. Republican member Gail Lee moved to add a pledge recitation to the agenda. The motion failed 2-2. Lee and fellow Republican Travis Bowden voted yes. Democratic member Vasu Abhiraman and Board Chair Karli Swift voted no. Democratic member Dele Lowman was absent.

Lee told Decaturish the pledge's absence had bothered her and that raising it felt appropriate after the country's 250th anniversary on July 4.

DeKalb GOP Chair Kendra Biegalski said she learned of the failed vote at a party committee meeting Aug. 20 and spoke out at the board's Aug. 31 session. At that meeting, Lowman called the push offensive and said those behind it had lost the plot. Abhiraman and Swift backed her.

Then came Sept. 10.

DeKalb GOP Secretary Janice Honea Appling, a sixth-generation DeKalb resident, attempted to lead the packed room in reciting the pledge. An audience member unfurled an American flag in the aisle. Swift cut Appling off, citing rules against demonstrations during public comment, and the board adjourned briefly to let the crowd settle.

When the meeting resumed, Bill Henderson, a Republican whose nomination to the elections board was rejected by a judge last year, sang "The Star-Spangled Banner." Lee, attending virtually, held up a small American flag.

Republican candidates who spoke in favor of the pledge included Andrea Smith, running for the DeKalb Board of Commissioners District 3 seat, and William Freeman, seeking the Georgia House District 88 seat.

Speakers who backed the board's decision pushed back. Beth Ann Frillman called the controversy a distraction and noted the Nov. 3 election will be the seventh DeKalb County has held in 2026. Poll manager Janet Grant of Decatur urged the board to focus on election preparation.

In closing comments, Lowman said a manipulated video of her Aug. 31 remarks had led to racist and profane messages via email and social media. Holding up a copy of the U.S. Constitution, she said the board proves its patriotism through its work.

"We have work to do, and we will continue to do the work of the people to ensure that everyone who has the right to vote is able to," Lowman said.

Swift closed by condemning threats against board members.

Biegalski has launched a Change.org petition to require the pledge at board meetings. She noted the DeKalb Board of Commissioners and the Cobb and Fulton county elections boards all open with the pledge.

Dr. Charles Bullock, a political science professor at the University of Georgia, told WABE he sees the pledge push as a GOP base-mobilization effort unlikely to change outcomes in heavily Democratic DeKalb. He called the county one of five in Georgia that determine statewide Democratic success.

The board's next meeting date was not listed in available records. DeKalb County voters head to the polls Nov. 3.