Georgia’s voting equipment will be tested ahead of the 2024 presidential elections. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced the plan and timeline of security preparations while on a call with election officials today.
The system health check will examine election management systems, ballot marking devices, and scanners in all 159 counties. Additionally, Raffensperger’s office is coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security to conduct physical site security assessments of the storage and warehousing of all election equipment in each county.
The office also announced that there will be pilots of the recently Election Assistance Commission-certified version of Democracy Suite, 5.17, in 2023. This software has not been deployed in any election in any jurisdiction as of yet. The pilots will examine its full functionality in a real-world setting. Also, in reviewing the processes it will require an update of the nearly 45,000 pieces of voting equipment, along with the subsequent acceptance testing. This process will take tens of thousands of manhours. Therefore, the statewide move to 5.17 will occur following the 2024 election cycle. This will allow the state and counties to focus on executing municipal elections and running the Presidential cycle.
