Election Day is here: What you need to know about securing your vote

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Election Day is here. We talked with election officials on how they are ensuring every ballot is secure.

Record turnout, tight races, and plot twists from the last election have people all over the country watching Georgia’s midterms.

Then there are the lingering allegations of election interference from 2020. After election officials in Cobb County say they forgot to mail out over 1,000 absentee ballots. We saw a renewed concern over voting integrity.

We talked to local officials about the process to make sure all votes are counted in this year’s election.

The focus is just as much on what’s on the ballot as to where it goes next. Election officials have been working around the clock to ensure that your vote is in good hands.

“First, you have to have trust and faith in the process. And I hope our voters do. So far, most of the Columbia County voters have. They have appreciated and expressed that. However, there are some naysayers,” said Executive Director of Columbia County Board of Elections Nancy Gay.

This is the first mid-term election in Georgia to take place under the Election Integrity Act, stricter laws for voters.

Find your S.C. voting location HERE

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“There are a lot of laws and things that are going on, that are affecting me personally,” said a voter.

And for the ones that file their vote...

Gay said: “There’s a verification process that each ballot has to go through, and we follow those to the letter of the law.”

Ballots are verified by date of birth, a driver’s license, a social security number, and a signature. You don’t have it? You don’t get a say.

“Hypothetically, it’s missing either a signature or the date of birth or their driver’s license number, that ballot is then rejected. And then a cure affidavit is sent to the voter. And that voter will have until three days after the election to send in the cure affidavit and the proper identification in order for us to count that ballot,” said Gay.

All so your vote counts.

The voter said: “There’s a lot of things that are at stake right now. A lot of things in the state that are very important. I’m glad that they went through with integrity.”

Gay said: “We’ve done everything that we’re supposed to do. It’s a matter of following the law. And that’s what we do.”

All 50 precincts in Columbia County will also come with their security. The justice department announced Monday that it plans to monitor federal voting rights laws in 64 jurisdictions. Including Cobb County, Fulton County, Gwinnett County in Georgia, and Horry County in South Carolina.

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