Secretary Raffensperger Recognizes Houston County for Election Excellence

Atlanta - Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger presented the Houston County Board of Elections with the EAGLE award on Tuesday morning at the election office in Perry. The EAGLE is awarded to Georgia election offices that have gone above and beyond in serving their voters.

Houston County was honored for their outstanding work in election security and innovation, under the strong leadership of Debra Presswood. Earlier this Spring, Houston County demonstrated their willingness to lead their peers by hosting an Election Official and Law Enforcement Tabletop Exercise for regional county election officials and law enforcement. As an active member of GAVREO, the department has a reputation statewide of meeting challenges head-on and finding ways to overcome those challenges. They continually exhibit dedication and commitment to secure, accurate, and fair elections, with the priority of adherence to all Georgia laws.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger praised Houston County, saying "Election Directors like Debra Presswood lead the way for our state. Her skills and leadership instill confidence in Georgia voters and serve as a model for running smooth elections."

Dan Perdue, Chairman of the Houston County Board of Commissioners, stated, "I could not be more pleased that the Secretary of State’s Election Division has chosen to award Ms. Debra Presswood and the entire team...I and the entire Board of Commissioners have the utmost confidence in Ms. Presswood and the Board of Elections and support their efforts wholeheartedly. It is encouraging to see her recognized at the State level."

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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.