Raffensperger to replace Coffee Co. election equipment

ATLANTA (WALB) - Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced Friday that his office is replacing the election equipment in Coffee County.

This comes after the unauthorized access to the equipment that former Coffee County election officials allowed in violation of Georgia law.

State officials previously replaced Coffee County’s election management server (EMS) and central scanner workstation.

Coffee County will be receiving 100 ballot marking devices (BMDs), 100 printers, 10 Imagecast tabulators (precinct scanners), 21 poll pads and new flashcards and thumb drives in time for installation and testing before voting begins.

“To allay the fears being stoked by perennial election deniers and conspiracy theorists, we’re replacing Coffee County’s election machines,” said Raffensperger. “The investigation into the former Coffee County election officials who allowed the unauthorized access continues, and anyone who broke the law should be punished to its full extent.”

Raffensperger said replacing election machines will end the distraction for local election officials preparing for the upcoming election.

“But the current election officials in Coffee County have to move forward with the 2022 election, and they should be able to do so without this distraction and the misinformation surrounding it,” he said. “Replacing the equipment puts an end to any argument that the results in Coffee County, and anywhere else in Georgia for that matter, will not accurately reflect the will of Georgia voters.”

Footage from security cameras at the Coffee County elections office, recently made public, depicts former election officials in Coffee County permitting access by unauthorized individuals to equipment that under Georgia law should have been secured.

“Voters expect to be able to trust their election officials and we rely on Georgia’s local election officials to follow the rules and laws that protect the integrity of Georgia elections,” Raffensperger said. “If the ongoing investigation by the State Election Board and the GBI uncovers violations of the law, those individuals should be prosecuted and punished to the full extent of the law.”

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