Carroll County says NO to voter fraud

The current white house administration has said to have evidence of voter fraud, but they will not find any in Carroll County. After an exciting and controversial election cycle, there was bound to be rumors and discussions about the election and election practices. The Trump Administration has made comments about illegal voting and people voting in more than one state. During the election citizens in different states were also worried that the electronic voting machines were rigged or had been tampered with. Carroll County and the State of Georgia have nothing to worry about when it comes to voter fraud, according to the Secretary of State.  

  “Thanks to responsible election laws, Georgia had no cases of illegal voting in the 2016 election,” said Secretary of State Brian Kemp. 

 Because of strict voter ID laws, voter verification laws and regular maintenance laws there was no cases of voter fraud. There are many laws and practices that must be put forth to prepare for elections and to prevent any type of voter fraud from happening.  

 “Carroll County along with all Georgia Elections officials are trained and adhere to strict procedures as set forth by Georgia Election Code and the State Election Board Rules,” said Carroll County Elections and Registration Supervisor Greg Rigby.  

 All poll workers must be trained on the equipment and they must become extremely familiar with the voting requirements and procedures before each election. No matter if a poll worker has worked one or thirty elections, they must go through training each time. 

  One massive law that tremendously helps prevent voter fraud not just in Carroll County but also the state of Georgia, is the voter ID law. This law protects your vote and your identity when it comes to voting.  

 “The Voter ID laws’ require that all voters are required to show a photo ID when voting in person is as Secretary Kemp states a common-sense requirement that ensures in-person voter fraud cannot occur at the polls,” said Rigby. 

  The voting machines are another issue. During the 2016 elections, there were worries all around the country that voting machines were rigged. There is a list of procedures and testing that goes on before every election on every machine to make sure that it is ready and working properly for the election. This type of testing is even open for the public to come and watch. The elections supervisor provided many steps and security features on the voting system.  

 For example; there is no network connectivity used with any component of the voting system; no component of the system is ever connected to the Internet. There is paper documentation of records that could be checked to show discrepancies of total number of vote if there were any issues. Voting equipment has to be tested (Logic and Accuracy Testing) to demonstrate that it is working properly before each election and all such testing has to be documented.  

Voter access cards, a yellow card handed to a voter to cast their ballot, do not contain any personal voter information. The card contains a code that ensures the ballot the voter is entitled to vote is displayed on the DRE, and a counter that is set to “1” when the card is issued to the voter, and resets to “0” once the voter casts their ballot. Simply put voters can only cast one ballot when issued a voter access card. 

  When a resident registers to vote, there are also measures in place to make sure this is done properly. One must have their license and or a social security number. These numbers are verified and checked with government records before they are registered in the county. When a voter passes away, moves and or has their voting rights pulled under the Georgia law they are removed from the system which also helps prevent voter fraud. 

  These are just a few of the steps and security process that an election office prepares before an election.  

 “I have complete confidence that Carroll County’s elections are safe, fair and secure,” concluded Rigby.