Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger awards Lowndes Co. Board of Elections the EAGLE Award for election security

VALDOSTA, Ga. – Georgia Secretary of State awards the Lowndes County Election Office with the Georgia Election Administration Golden Leader in Excellence, or EAGLE Award.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger bestowed the prestigious EAGLE Award upon the Lowndes county elections office during his recent visit, commending their outstanding election performance.

“Being a top performer and Deb Cox in Lowndes county are one of our top performing counties, we have 159 counties, and she’s one of the top of the tops. When other counties ever need help or ever have a situation, she’s a resource that they can plug into in addition to ours. And, then, back in February, we had a regional tabletop, which was held here in Lowndes county that she helped facilitate, put together with our team up in Atlanta. And it was really important because we’re really preparing for 2024. We fully expect over 5 million people will show up just like they did in 2020. And, we want to be prepared for that, not just for the operations and checking the accuracy of the equipment, but also cybersecurity and any other kind of threats we could have,” said Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

Secretary of State Raffensperger elaborated on the criteria that distinguished the Lowndes county elections office as the recipient of the award, while also providing insights into forthcoming legislation regarding voting results.

“Organizational efficiency. They’re just really accurate. What they would do, if you look at how quick you get results posted up, you know, it’s just really amazing. Now, by state law, we were going to require the early votes because a new law we’re just putting into place that should be signed by the governor. I don’t know if it will be, because he’s got a lot of other bills he’s still looking at, but it’s one that will get the results posted by 8 p.m. We think that’s a good thing for the early votes and also the absentee. Then all the votes that happened on election day will continue to roll in. No matter how you vote in Georgia now, if you vote absentee, it’s based on photo ID, voted early or in-person, that’s also photo ID And it’s been that for over the years now. And that gives voters confidence in the process. So, that about 60- 65% of that early vote totals will be uploaded by 8 pm. And, that’s a good thing. Lines will be shorter than one hour. With the electronic poll pads, you’ll get your vote card within 2 minutes. That’s how quickly we’re moving people through these lines. There are no lines, and that’s a good thing,” said Sec. of State Raffensperger.

Secretary of State Raffensperger emphasized the crucial role that local election offices, like Lowndes county, play in upholding voter integrity and urged citizens to exercise their right to vote.

“They have a part to play, first of all. Number one is making sure our voter rolls are clean. And, so, they have to look at and verify their voting records every other year. When you’re in an election season like this, because of federal law, we can’t update the voter rolls while we’re in an active election. But, in January, February, Deb was doing her work. You know, here we were also doing our work with the information we get through Eric, which is the electronic registration information center, which is a multi-state organization, and then also through the Department of Driver Services, they have agreements with all other 49 states. I would really encourage everyone to vote. It’s a great country and the price of the franchise to vote should never be diminished by you not participating. When you participate, your voice is heard,” said Sec. of State Raffensperger.

De’Andra Jacobs reporting.

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