MACON, Bibb County — Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger stopped by Macon-Bibb County Board of Elections on July 30, to ensure their voting equipment does not show signs of software failure and tampering.
Macon-Bibb Board of Elections Supervisor Thomas Gillon said the goal of the board is voter trust. He said they they are expecting a large turnout this fall for the presidential race, so they said the checkup is crucial for voter turnout. So, he said it's important the county does its due diligence.
"If we say that this candidate got this many votes, that candidate got so many votes, then after our audit that we have after every election it will prove that the candidates got the number of votes that the system tells us," Gillon said.
The state's election division tells us most problems with election technology are user error, but said it's good to do check-ups on the system software. Gillon said the technology is not connected to networks, which protects it from being vulnerable to hackers.
"If anyone wants to hack it they have a tough job because they'd have to be standing in front of each piece of equipment they want to do something with," Gillon said.
So, Raffensperger and his office did a 'health check' on the county's election system. During the check, someone from the election division scanned test ballots to see if they matched the results pulled from the state's electronic system.
"Just look right down that line and make sure what is the process, what is the law, to make sure they have clean data," Raffensperger said. "They aren't looking left, they aren't looking right."
The secretary also talked about the new software rollout from his office. The web portal will allow voters to cancel their registration. He said this is another layer of security in protecting elections. He and the county said their priority is helping people exercise their right to vote.
"We want everyone who can be registered to register and we want everyone whose registered to come out and vote," Gillon said.
The state confirmed Macon-Bibb passed the health check. Gillon said he hopes this reassures voters in the county's election process.
Early voting starts October 15.