After her 2018 defeat to now-Gov. Brian Kemp, Stacey Abrams called the result into question, making claims that voter fraud, or at least voter suppression, had swung the result over to the GOP.
Abrams’ PAC, Fair Fight Action, has sued the state over its handling of election processes, with a particular focus on voter “purges” meant to clear out individuals who have not voted in several years to prevent fraud. The group is naturally incensed at the recent announcement of a 300,000 name purge, even though all those named will be contacted at their last known address and be given 30 days to respond.
But despite all the controversy, Georgia’s voter rolls have grown at a rate that exceeds its population growth over the past decade, a rate that if anything is increasing.
In 2014 there were 6,036,491 registered voters throughout Georgia, just over 60 percent of the population. Ahead of the 2018 general election there were 6,694,441 registered, and today there are 7,424,026 registered voters statewide.
A big reason for that jump is the automatic voter registration system implemented by then-Secretary of State Brian Kemp in 2016, which automatically registers Georgians to vote when they go to the DMV. Despite voter roll maintenance, (or purges, depending on your political leanings) voter registration has never been easier or busier in Georgia.
New voting machines, too, will be ready for the primaries statewide in March of 2020. The new machines will include printable ballot records, creating a paper trail and hopefully eliminating the risks associated with Georgia’s old system.
Last week Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was joined by officials from two separate election auditing companies, Verified Voting and VotingWorks, to ensure the system is working as intended. The companies audited the Nov. 5 votes in Bartow County, which was one of six Georgia counties using the new machines to test their accuracy and safety.
“An important part of the new voting system is the ability to audit with the use of paper ballots. This feature provides the confidence voters deserve,” said Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
