In an effort to make this year’s general election smoother, the state of Georgia will now give voters even greater peace of mind if they choose to vote by mail. Those with concerns over absentee ballots being officially counted will now be able to receive emails, text or phone alerts in regards to track ballot progress.
What We Know:
- On Friday, a brand new service by the name of BallotTrax was launched to help voters keep track of their absentee ballots, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC). The service permits voters to register for various kinds of alerts from when their absentee ballots are issued, received, and accepted.
- Gabriel Sterling, voting system implementation manager for the Georgia secretary of state’s office, stated that implementing this service will guarantee voters their voice will be heard in one of the most significant elections in decades. The notifications will assure citizens have properly cast their vote and has gone through the system.
“It’s going to give more transparency and information in a timely manner,” Sterling said. “This is another tool we’re giving voters to be informed and be comfortable with their vote, however they choose to vote.”
- It has been reported that roughly 1.2 million Georgians have received their absentee ballots already, with thousands of more residents estimated to take this route in voting due to concerns of the coronavirus pandemic. Sterling noted that it takes about 5 to 8 days to receive a ballot in the mail, so with the election being less than a month away, now is the time to get voting items in the order.
- Steve Olsen, president of BallotTrax made a point by saying that voters “don’t trust that their vote is going to be counted if it goes into a black hole and they never hear about it. With BallotTrax they know not only that the ballot has been accepted, but they can watch it flow through the process.”
- Previous elections have seen issues in the voting process which has undoubtedly shaken the public’s trust in mail-in ballot voting. Many of these issues have been hours-long waits at the polls, broken-down voting machines and lack of provisional ballots.
This initiative will hopefully reduce and eliminate many of those voting hassles come November 3rd, says the Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. This new tracking tool is live and all Georgia voters can sign up for BallotTrax at this website by entering their information to get registered.
