ATLANTA – A new voter registration system in Georgia is said to be more advanced and secure.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced the new system on Wednesday.
An assistant Supervisor of Elections said the easiest way to explain it is like instead of using Internet Explorer, voters will be switching to Google Chrome.
The system is faster, more secure, and there won’t be any difference in the voter’s experience.
“We need a stable election platform and that’s why we’ve moved to GaRVIS,” Raffensperger said.
GaRVIS — or Georgia Registered Voter Information System — is more advanced and user-friendly he added.
The changes are all on the administrative side.
It includes the registration database, the voter’s personal information, assigning precincts, and in the early voting process the system will process the application and make sure you get the right ballot.
The Glynn County Board of Elections Office was one of many places throughout the state that saw long lines during early voting in 2020. The assistant supervisor of elections explained how the new software is different from what it used before.
Christina Redden said being it was an older system that had been in place since 2013, it made it harder to process information. She said early voting became sluggish and now there are many more people voting than when the system was designed. Redden said the system was always secure, but new threats emerge as time goes on.
“Security is the key to truly assuring that all voters and all candidates know and understand that the winner is the winner. And the loser simply came up short,” Raffensperger said.
Raffensperger said the system will be housed on a server that’s one of the highest levels of security assessment and authorization of activities available.
He said the system has higher capabilities so they know lines will be shorter.
The system goes online in March. Early voting for primary elections in Georgia starts on April 3.
