Georgia surpasses 2 million early voters, secretary of state gives update on election security
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Election Day is just under two weeks away, and more than two million Georgians have already voted early.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger gave an election update Wednesday morning from the state capitol as Georgia continues to shatter early voting records. With a week and a half to go, almost 30% of voters in the state have already cast their ballot.
During a press conference, Raffensperger reported that 20 noncitizens were removed from the state’s voter rolls after an audit that began over the summer.
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“All 20 of these voter registrations have been canceled, and all of them are being referred to local prosecuting law enforcement,” said Raffensperger.
He said 156 others were flagged by the voter registration system, ERIC, but they need further human investigation.
“Other states that have conducted audits have not been able to get to the level of detail that our office achieved with this audit,” said Raffensperger. “Georgia is a model when it comes to preventing non-citizen voting.”
Chief Operating Officer Gabriel Sterling said Georgia has a strong system on the front end of voter registration.
About 27% of all registered voters have voted early, and now that they‘ve hit the two million mark, the Secretary of State’s Office is pushing to break even more records.
By the end of the early voting period, Raffensperger says they project hitting just shy of four million early voters. He said lines have been minimal across the state with no major hiccups.
Sterling doubled down on stopping the spread of misinformation, both by foreign powers and some of Georgia’s own elected officials.
He referenced a case in Whitfield County in which someone’s printed ballot did not reflect the choices they made on the machine. He said there will be some instances of human error, like in this case, but that cannot undermine our election.
“There is literally zero, and I’m saying this to certain Congresspeople in the state, zero evidence of machines flipping votes. That claim was a lie in 2020 and it’s a lie now,” said Sterling during the Wednesday morning press conference.
He said if you see something hyper-partisan on social media, take a second look.
“We need to be as discerning as we can with the information that we see. One of the things I’ve been telling people is if you see information that really scratches that partisan itch on the hard left or the hard right, it probably isn’t true and to investigate multiple sources,” said Sterling.
Tuesday, Sterling cited an article from the Associated Press saying U.S. intelligence officials warn Russia and Iran may fuel violent post-election protests. He re-posted the story on social media, saying, “We need to be mindful of the fact that our enemies want us fighting each other and will take steps to drive Americans further apart. Be aware that this is happening so you aren’t manipulated by those that want to do us harm.”
Raffensperger said despite the noise, Georgia continues to break records during early voting.
“This is proof in Georgia, it’s easy to vote and hard to cheat,” he said.
2024 ELECTIONS GUIDE:
Georgians can vote early until Nov. 1. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
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