(The Center Square) – Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said a record turnout on the first day of early voting is an indication that voters have confidence in elections.
More than 188,000 cast ballots on Tuesday, a 40% increase from the 2022 midterm election when nearly 135,000 people voted, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. Nearly 71,000 voters went to the polls on the first day of early voting in 2018.
“It’s a testament to our strong election system overseen by 159 of the best county election officials in the country,” Raffensperger said in a statement.
The State Election Board passed a resolution on Sept. 30 asking for the federal government to urge Raffensperger to update voting machines before November and remove QR codes within six months. The Coalition for Good Governance, a Georgia election-integrity advocacy organization, is asking the General Assembly to urge the Election Board to rescind the resolution.
“The board has handed the Trump administration a blank check for involvement in Georgia’s elections,” the organization said in a release. “Trump’s DOJ will most assuredly cash those checks. The danger extends beyond whether DOJ can obtain the particular remedies the letters demand.”
DOJ is an acronym for the Department of Justice.
Gubernatorial candidates Keisha Lance Bottoms and Rick Jackson said during Tuesday night’s debate they don’t think federal intervention is necessary in November’s election.
“I don’t think that’s necessary unless Governor Kemp thinks it is necessary,” Jackson said, referring to two-term Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. “I’m unaware of any reason that we need to have anybody do an investigation of this election.”
Bottoms said that if elected, she would eliminate the State Election Board that has “gone rogue and has been a disaster for the state of Georgia.”
“I am deeply concerned about Donald Trump’s rhetoric around our elections,” Bottoms said.
Some members of the State Election Board have said a software flaw in the Dominion system puts ballot secrecy at risk by letting others see how someone else voted.
Asked about those concerns, Raffensperger walked through the voting process.
“At the end of the day, we have a secret ballot,” the secretary of state said, motioning to election machines and a ballot box. “You are the voter. You show up, and you make your selections here. It prints it out, and those ballots are secure in this ballot box.”
Early voting continues in Georgia through Oct. 30.