GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger visited the Hall County Elections office on Wednesday to conduct a checkup on the county's election machinery.
It's part of a statewide effort by the Secretary of State's Office to conduct what they're calling "health checks" on election equipment. Raffensperger said his office has already visited election offices in all of Georgia's 159 counties and is now beginning a second round of check-ins.
"What we’re really doing is verifying that the equipment is accurately recording all the votes," Raffensperger told reporters inside the Hall County Elections office in Gainesville.
Chris Bellew, senior elections system specialist with the Secretary of State's Office, said the health check boils down to an audit to ensure that votes entered on the electronic voting tablet match the paper ballot printout as well as the final tabulation of the vote.
He estimated that "probably a quarter" of Georgia's election machines had been inspected during the health checks over the past 16 months. That's on top of other routine testing of the machinery, he said, including an inspection of each piece of equipment when it's first rolled out.
"I want every Georgian to know that they can trust the results," Raffensperger said.
The Secretary of State has attended many of the health checks himself.
The visits come at a time of increased scrutiny on election processes around the country and here in Georgia.
During the Hall County visit, a group of about half a dozen demonstrators watched the health check from behind a glass window.
Maribeth Kennedy, president of the Republican Women of Hall County, was one of them.
"I'm worried about the entire system," she said.
She described her concerns ahead of the November election, saying she thought "the deep state" was going to "cheat any way that they can."
When asked specifically who she thought represented the "deep state" in Georgia, she declined to answer.
During his remarks, Raffensperger said he hopes his office's "health check" program persuades skeptics like Kennedy that Georgia's election systems are secure.
"I just wanted to point out, this will really be important for people that are on the right side of the aisle, and that's my side, the conservative side of things," said the Secretary of State. "The Heritage Foundation has recognized us (as) number two in the country for election integrity."
"The Bipartisan Policy Institute has recognized us, tied with another state, number one for election integrity," Raffensperger added.
