Nancy Guy Was The Executive Director Of The Columbia County Board Of Elections. “Nancy Gay, the executive director for the Columbia County Board of Elections in Georgia, said she first spoke with Richards in December 2022, after someone with her local Republican Party introduced them, and she said she wasn’t ready to use his software.”
EagleAI Was Created By An Augusta-Based Man After The 2020 Election, When He Claimed Without Evidence That He Found People Who Should Not Have Voted. “Dr. John W. ‘Rick’ Richards, whose business is based in the Augusta area, said he started EagleAI in response to the 2020 election, after which he said he downloaded the Georgia secretary of state’s voter rolls and allegedly found people who should not have voted. He provided no evidence for this claim when asked and said he no longer has the records. Richards said his aim is to flag simple data errors like the difference between ‘John Smith’ in one database and ‘John W. Smith,’ in another. EagleAI can help find users for example, someone who is registered to vote at one address but told the post office they moved. President Joe Biden won Georgia by 11,779 votes in 2020, and there is no evidence of fraud. The narrow margin nonetheless led to Trump calling Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger, a fellow Republican, and pressuring him to ‘find’ the votes he would need to win the election.” [The Augusta Chronicle, 03/28/2024]
Nancy Gay, As Executive Director For The Columbia County Board Of Elections, Hired EagleAI After Being Introduced To Its Founder By Someone Within Her Local Republican Club. “Nancy Gay, the executive director for the Columbia County Board of Elections in Georgia, said she first spoke with Richards in December 2022, after someone with her local Republican Party introduced them, and she said she wasn’t ready to use his software. They started talking in earnest in early 2023, she said. ‘Having a clean voter list is my ultimate goal,’ she said. ‘It would just be another tool that we would have at our disposal. It wouldn’t have any bearing on any decisions being made, and it wouldn’t be responsible for anything.’ The board signed off an agreement in February to pay the company $2,000 for its services. Richards said the county came up with that fee, that he offers it to citizens for free, and when prompted to name a price, once jokingly asked for $1.” [The Augusta Chronicle, 03/28/2024]
Columbia County Election Board Approved A Contract To Pay $2,000 To EagleAI. “The board signed off an agreement in February to pay the company $2,000 for its services. Richards said the county came up with that fee, that he offers it to citizens for free, and when prompted to name a price, once jokingly asked for $1.” [The Augusta Chronicle, 03/28/2024]
Columbia County Became The First Government To Use EagleAI. “An election board in a conservative Georgia county voted this month to buy software called EagleAI to identify potentially outdated voter registrations, despite warnings from voting rights groups that it could erroneously flag legitimate voters. Columbia County will become the first government to use EagleAI, a private venture supported by Republican activists who have filed challenges against voters’ eligibility and Cleta Mitchell, an attorney who backed efforts to overturn then-President Donald Trump’s defeat in 2020. [...] Elections Supervisor Nancy Gay said she will use EagleAI to send letters to voters who might have moved, and their registrations would only be removed if they return a cancellation form.” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 12/17/23]
Nancy Gay Said “Having A Clean Voter List Is My Ultimate Goal.” “Nancy Gay, the executive director for the Columbia County Board of Elections in Georgia, said she first spoke with Richards in December 2022, after someone with her local Republican Party introduced them, and she said she wasn’t ready to use his software. They started talking in earnest in early 2023, she said. ‘Having a clean voter list is my ultimate goal,’ she said. ‘It would just be another tool that we would have at our disposal. It wouldn’t have any bearing on any decisions being made, and it wouldn’t be responsible for anything.’ The board signed off an agreement in February to pay the company $2,000 for its services. Richards said the county came up with that fee, that he offers it to citizens for free, and when prompted to name a price, once jokingly asked for $1.” [The Augusta Chronicle, 03/28/2024]
Nancy Gay Said EagleAI Would “Just Be Another Tool” And Denied It Would Have Bearing On Decisions Or Be Responsible For Anything. “Nancy Gay, the executive director for the Columbia County Board of Elections in Georgia, said she first spoke with Richards in December 2022, after someone with her local Republican Party introduced them, and she said she wasn’t ready to use his software. They started talking in earnest in early 2023, she said. ‘Having a clean voter list is my ultimate goal,’ she said. ‘It would just be another tool that we would have at our disposal. It wouldn’t have any bearing on any decisions being made, and it wouldn’t be responsible for anything.’ The board signed off an agreement in February to pay the company $2,000 for its services. Richards said the county came up with that fee, that he offers it to citizens for free, and when prompted to name a price, once jokingly asked for $1.” [The Augusta Chronicle, 03/28/2024]
Nancy Gay On Using EagleAI: “We Still Have To Follow The Parameters Of The Law: We Can’t Do Anything Without Voter Consent And Voter Signature.” “‘It will just be a tool to research voter status and residency to help have an accurate list. I would love to see how many people EagleAI claims no longer live in Columbia County,’ Gay said. ‘We still have to follow the parameters of the law: We can’t do anything without voter consent and voter signature.’” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 12/17/23]
As Of May 2024, EagleAI Hadn’t Signed Its Contract With Columbia County. “But in Rick Richards’ native Columbia County, it’s a different story. There, the county board of election signed a contract with Eagle AI — though county elections supervisor Nancy Gay said she can’t yet vouch for it. ‘That's correct,’ Gay said, ‘because he hasn't signed the agreement and returned it back to us yet.’ Gay said even if that changes, she doesn’t intend to use Eagle AI alone to check registrations. ‘No, no, no. It's just — it would be a tool,’ Gay said. ‘Just another tool that we could have at our disposal, I guess, to try and help keep a clean voter list.’” [GPB, 05/24/2024]
Nancy Gay Said She Would Not Use EagleAI Alone To Check Registrations. “‘That's correct,’ Gay said, ‘because he hasn't signed the agreement and returned it back to us yet.’ Gay said even if that changes, she doesn’t intend to use Eagle AI alone to check registrations. ‘No, no, no. It's just — it would be a tool,’ Gay said. ‘Just another tool that we could have at our disposal, I guess, to try and help keep a clean voter list.’” [GPB, 05/24/2024]
Nancy Gay Said She Did Not Plan To Use EagleAI In 2024. “Columbia County’s election board approved the $2,000 contract with EagleAI in December, but Richards hasn’t signed it yet, Elections Supervisor Nancy Gay said. She said it’s unlikely she would use EagleAI this year while her office is busy running elections. ‘I’ve got bigger fish to fry,’ Gay said. ‘I’ve got to worry about this election year, first and foremost.’” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 3/25/24]