Longtime Election Involvement Leads To Dekalb’s New Head of Elections

Dustin Estes has begun his term Tuesday serving as DeKalb County’s new Head of Elections.

Estes succeeds previous administrator Dennis Stanley who announced his retirement after serving his position since 2009. Estes said that he has been part of running elections for a long time, making him believe this position to be a great fit for him since he learned of its opening.

“I had been part of the election process since I was in high school, and the process of seeing people come through candidates and the whole election process had always intrigued me,” Estes said. “And I had been interested in this position for a number of years.”

Estes said that when he saw Stanley announce his retirement, he immediately put his name up as a candidate. He said that much of the process of applying for the position was lengthy, however, it had also been smooth.

“Today’s my first day in office, just learning how things work,” Estes said. “You know there’s only so much you can learn outside of a position before you actually take a position. So that’s what I’m doing now and I start my certification process tomorrow.”

Estes said that one thing that he’s excited to begin doing once he’s fully certified is to get younger people involved in elections. He said that getting people involved in the election process as early as high school was a big motivation behind his running for office.

“I intend on creating good partnerships,” Estes said. “Especially with our education system as you know, poll workers are eligible to work at the age of 16. I hope to get high school plugged into the election process and at least better understand the importance of the election process.”

Estes said that he plans on both upholding the fair and organized election process in DeKalb as well as adding other improvements. He said that he is currently gearing up to organize the next three elections coming up over the next year.