Election officials in Georgia have confirmed that absentee ballots were sent out by the US Postal Service as scheduled and were not affected by the recent hurricanes. This assurance comes as the first day of early voting commences in the crucial swing state.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced that over 250,000 voters have already requested absentee ballots, with expectations of this number rising to around 300,000 in the coming week. This accounts for approximately 5 to 6% of all voters participating in the absentee voting process this election cycle.
Raffensperger emphasized the implementation of safeguards to ensure a secure election. In addition to auditing every race, Georgia election officials will conduct random audits on voting equipment to verify its accuracy and security.
During a press conference, Raffensperger expressed optimism about the voter turnout in Georgia, indicating that the state may witness record-breaking numbers on the first day of early voting. However, he refrained from making definitive predictions, emphasizing that the ultimate decision lies with the voters.
It is noteworthy that Raffensperger, who faced criticism from former President Donald Trump following the 2020 election results, re-certified the results after a statewide machine recount in December 2020. The recount confirmed President Joe Biden's victory over Trump by a margin of just 11,779 votes out of nearly 5 million cast ballots.
