ERR in the US: Election officials in Georgia keen to learn from 2020's lessons

Four years ago, the State of Georgia was a key battleground in the United States presidential election and with the same two candidates, at the time of writing, that are in the running this time round.
The narrow loss for the Republican Party and Donald Trump in November 2020 sparked voter outrage in the state as it did nationwide, a sentiment which Georgia officials are prepared to face again in the upcoming election four months from now.
ERR's Laura Kalam reported from Paulding County, Georgia, around 50 kilometers to the northwest of Atlanta, and from Floyd County, about the same distance further on in the same direction.
The state's electoral officials say they are ready for this November's election.
Preparations have been more robust than ever, given the events of four years ago, a legacy which has made the peach state proceed with caution.
Joe Biden won Georgia in 2020 by a cat's whisker, just 0.2 percent over Donald Trump, a margin which deeply frustrated Republicans in the state, to the extent that some individuals resorted to extraordinary lengths in their threats.

Deidre B. Holden, supervisor of elections and voter registration in Paulding County Election Commission, told ERR: "The threat came from people who were made because Trump did not win the election, and there was a lot of terrible language in it; threats that they were going to blow up the polling places, and they referred tot he Boston bombings - that this was going to be child's play compared with that."
At the time, a disillusioned Trump did not acknowledge the electoral results, while he currently faces over a dozen charges for alleged efforts to overturn that loss in 2020.
On this, Holden, said: "I don't think there was any criminal intention there, I think that he wanted a recount, because I think that out of all the states, I think he was really shocked that he didn't win Georgia. I mean he was upset, and I think that this is probably why he wanted it – and we did do a recount, and the results stayed the same."
Since Georgia is likely once again to be a crucial swing state, officials are prepared for another voter backlash from either direction.
Akyn Beck, who is elections supervisor in Floyd County, said: "Coming off the 2020 elections we have a lot of people even to this day that are very angry with our department. I mean we prepared all the same, we're prepared for a one hundred percent turnout; we're prepared for people to be angry at us; we're prepared for people to try to get in the way of our processes, but I think just being prepared for the worst helps."

Holden added: "We've talked about bomb threats, we've talked about terrorist attacks, we've talked about mail that could be contaminated, or about an active shooter finding a safe place in a polling location. Knowing where your exits are and how to respond to those situations."
Transparency in the elections has also been taken into consideration.
Unlike in Estonia where e-votes can be cast via a home computer, voting machines are in common use in the U.S.
These are subject to strict rules regarding deployment, maintenance and storage, tech etc.
Georgia Elections Director Chris Harvey told ERR: "It's unambiguous when you make a choice. It's very very clear. When you give people pencils they sometimes make crosses or circle things; they cross things out – but this makes it very, very clear."

Preparations in Georgia, including staff training and making ready the voting machines, have been so thorough that all is in place already, four months before election day, ERR reported.
Georgia voters choose electors who will represent them for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president. This electoral college system is used nationwide.

In addition to the president and vice president, elections will be held concurrently for 33 of the total 100 senate seats in line with the staggered system for electing each state's two senators.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte; Merili Nael