Hurricane damage to Ga. polling locations minimal, election officials concerned over another storm

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - On Monday, Georgia’s top election officials gave an update on damage from Hurricane Helene to polling locations and equipment.

Publish Date: Monday 7th October 2024
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ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - On Monday, Georgia’s top election officials gave an update on damage from Hurricane Helene to polling locations and equipment.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger reported no damage to election equipment but some polling offices and precincts were damaged in some of the hardest-hit counties.

“When I was in Gibson, there was the county election director working at the sheriff’s department because it had internet, and what she was concerned about is, she needed to get 11 people, new registrations on the voter list,” said Raffensperger. “And then, if she’s already thinking ahead, then how do I get them their cards so that they know they are registered? Well, that’s the type of dedication we’ve seen throughout the entire state of Georgia. I’m grateful for every one of our county election directors. They really put public service first because they understand how important voting is.”

The state has more than 2,800 polling locations.

Elections Director Blake Evans said their office expects to change three polling locations because of damage. He suggests visiting mvp.sos.ga.gov to make sure you know your polling location.

“We’ve seen minimal to no damage to election offices themselves, which has been helpful. And we have, as a secretary mentioned very, very dedicated county election officials,” said Evans. “I was talking to Jefferson County this morning. Their offices are still closed to the public, but today is the voter registration deadline, so (the registrar) has a table that’s set up outside one of her county offices. She is there to register voters as they come up on the voter registration deadline.”

The secretary of state’s office said they’ve been in touch with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA) for cleanup efforts.

They’re also in contact with U.S. Postal Service to make sure that absentee ballots are sent out correctly and ballots will not be delayed.

Gabe Sterling, the secretary of state’s chief operating officer, said the office does not expect delays, but there is a new tool called Ballot Scout that can help you track your absentee ballot.

"I strongly encourage you to sign up for Ballot Scout so you can get notifications of where your ballot is and if it gets to be Thursday, Friday before the Tuesday election, maybe you think about going voting early,” said Sterling.

Sterling was concerned another storm could pose a threat to polling locations closer to Election Day.

“Most of the roads are already open,” said Sterling. “I mean, our big fear we had in a conversation with our federal and state partners on Friday was if another storm comes through and we’re trying to get ahead of that using other things for cellular connections, power connections, and generators.”

December 22, 2024

Story attribution: Abby Kousouris
Atlanta News First

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