64,000 Georgians Successfully Voted Early on New Voting Machines
Friday, March 6th, 2020
In just three days of early voting, more than 64,000 Georgians have voted in person on the Peach State’s secure and verifiable paper-ballot voting system. In the two early voting days since Monday, the number of Georgians who have voted early on the new system has increased more than 3.5 times.
“We are excited to help the state of Georgia move from success to success,” said Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. “Georgia’s new secure and reliable paper-ballot system has helped expand voting access to all Georgians, and to those with disabilities in particular. We were honored to hear that civil rights hero Congressman John Lewis found the system a great improvement over the previous one, especially for those with limited eyesight.”
According to the most recent data, 64,074 Georgians have voted in person so far during early voting. Of those, 21,844 were cast in the Republican Party primary, while 41,973 were cast in the Democratic Party primary. Another 257 nonpartisan ballots were cast in person. The highest turnout was in Fulton (10,010 votes), DeKalb (5,770 votes), and Cobb (3,971 votes).
Even as early voting began, widespread praise for the new system came from all corners of Georgia. In addition to Congressman John Lewis (D-GA), notable news outlets such as the Atlanta Journal Constitution, CBS46 and 11alive lauded the new system. Voters around the state too have enjoyed the new system, noting the added confidence provided by the printed paper ballot and the ease of use.
Earlier this week, the new paper-ballot voting system notched another flawless success in the runoff election for the District 13 Senate seat. There were no errors in the runoff election, which saw more than 12,000 votes cast on the new voting system. The preceding February 4 election was confirmed with a post-election audit.
What They Are Saying:
Poll Manager Chandra Attenborough: “… Everybody seems to be pleased with the new machines.”
Poll Worker Paula Dorsey: One voter “was surprised at how easy it was and what it does.”
Voter Richard Montgomery in Coweta County: “They should’ve done that long ago… [Voting was] quick and easy – a piece of cake.”
Judy Sigmon in Coweta County: “I loved it. It was so simple.”
Thomas County Elections Supervisor Frank Scoggins: “I've heard from a number of people it was so much easier than they thought it would be… Once they did it, they thought it was quite easy.”