Officials with the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office have been conducting live press conferences throughout the day, updating voters and an anxious nation about the status of the state’s vote count.
Voting System Implementation Manager Gabriel Sterling Thursday afternoon praised election workers for their efforts to accurately report the results and assured they “are not involved in voter suppression.”
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger defended the state’s vote-counting procedures saying strong security protocols are in place “to protect the integrity of our election.”
“It’s important to act quickly, but it’s more important to get it right,” he said.
Raffensperger noted numerous security measures in place to secure the vote and increase public confidence in the electoral process:
- Absentee drop boxes were locked at 7 p.m. Tuesday evening, preventing illegal voting or potential fraud.
- Surveillance cameras monitored drop boxes at all times.
- State monitor is in the room with Fulton County for all counts and the public is welcome to observe any county as an added layer of transparency.
- A pre-certification audit will provide additional confidence that the votes were accurately counted.
“We’re well aware that with a close presidential election and the possibility of runoffs in some elections that the eyes of the state and the nation are upon Georgia at this time,” Raffensperger said. “We’re as anxious as anyone to see the final results and to start work on certification and planning for our runoff elections. As the work goes on, I want to assure Georgia voters that every legal vote was cast and accurately counted.”
