Secretary Hosts Law Enforcement Tabletop on Secure Elections
Atlanta, GA – In support of Secretary Raffensperger’s four-point plan for election security, the Secretary of State’s office hosted a tabletop exercise focused on physical security in elections, brought together by the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, regional election officials, and state and local partners. The exercise, held Wednesday, demonstrated a collaborative approach to safeguarding the electoral process through rigorous scenario planning and real-time threat detection and mitigation strategies.
The exercise drew participants from over 7 East Georgia counties, convened to tackle a series of simulated scenarios designed to test and enhance the resilience of Georgia’s elections personnel and systems, and to share knowledge among key stakeholders in the election community.
Participants worked through various scenarios designed to address critical aspects of election security, including the protection of voting equipment, addressing swatting incidents, and ensuring elections personnel are well trained to respond to a variety of threats.
Secretary Raffensperger emphasized the importance of such exercises in preparing counties for the November election: "We appreciate Columbia County and all of Eastern Georgia for understanding the importance of securing our election systems and protecting all those involved in elections. This exercise builds confidence, and shows that Georgia is well prepared for November.”
The event highlights just one aspect of the Secretary’s commitment to a secure 2024 election. The Secretary thanked elections personnel, as well as the local law enforcement agencies and other state and federal partners who are working tirelessly to serve their communities throughout Georgia and the nation.
###
Georgia is recognized as a national leader in elections. It was the first state in the country to implement the trifecta of automatic voter registration, at least 17 days of early voting (which has been called the “gold standard”), and no-excuse absentee voting. Georgia continues to set records for voter turnout and election participation, seeing the largest increase in average turnout of any other state in the 2018 midterm election and record turnout in 2020, and 2022. 2022 achieved the largest single day of in-person early voting turnout in Georgia midterm history utilizing Georgia’s secure, paper ballot voting system. Most recently, Georgia ranked #1 for Election Integrity by the Heritage Foundation, a top ranking for Voter Accessibility by the Center for Election Innovation & Research and tied for number one in Election Administration by the Bipartisan Policy Center.