Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger congratulates county election officials for pulling off another successful General Primary and Nonpartisan Election, attributing much of the success to infrastructure improvements put in place with the new GARViS system, upgraded poll pads, and county-state relationships developed since 2019. Secretary Raffensperger is thankful for the diligent work, clear communication, and professionalism of election officials across Georgia.

Since 2019, the state has made numerous investments in Georgia’s election technology, enhancing the polling experience on a secure paper ballot. Recent investments into upgraded poll pad technology ensure that voters smoothy check-in, leading to election day wait times of less than 1 minute in most counties.

“Election security is my top priority,” said Secretary Raffensperger. “We’re running elections like a business, streamlining the process for the voter, and innovating to ensure we have the best security in the market. These new poll pads and GARViS make for an in-and-out experience so voters can focus on their lives.”

This is the second successful state-wide test of GARViS, the state’s streamlined voter registration system. GARViS replaces an outdated system, ENet, meeting the demands of a 21st century environment.

“Our office is committed to election security, and that is why we deployed military-grade security with 21st century technology. GARViS will handle any threat, while giving lightning speed check-ins at the polls,” said Raffensperger.

The benefits of GARViS extend beyond Election Day. Unlike ENet, which took up to two weeks to update voter history, GARViS updates voter credit on theMy Voter Pageas quickly as the same day. Most voters who participated on Tuesday will see their voter history updated within 48 hours, bolstering voter confidence.

The success of GARViS is complemented by poll pad upgrades, allowing state election officials to monitor the status of nearly every precinct across Georgia in real time. The implementation of improved reporting tools, meticulous training for election officials, and increased staffing contributed to the streamlined processing procedures and efficient communications with election offices throughout the night. These enhancements enable precise throughput identification and direct collaboration with counties, ensuring that the correct resources are deployed to each precinct, and after polls closing, election results were reported quickly and accurately. Polk County began reporting election results at 7pm when polls closed.

Data from this week’s election is available for public viewing on the Secretary’sDatahub, which includes Advance Voting and Absentee turnout, and will be updated with Election Day turnout this week.

“Georgia is leading the nation in election security, and it is because of our partnership with the General Assembly and Gov. Kemp that our state has been able to make significant investments in our election system,” said Raffensperger. “I am grateful to our county election officials for their diligent work to keep Georgia’s election the safest in the nation."