Georgia Secretary of State pushes for more veterans to work in polling places

COLUMBUS, Ga. ( WRBL ) — About 6,000 veterans have signed up to work at voter polling places across the state of Georgia. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Vet the Vote Director Daniel Vallone are hoping to expand that number.

The Georgia Secretary of State’s Office is working with Vet the Vote – a national campaign to recruit veterans and military family members to become the next generation of poll workers.

Raffensperger announced this initiative earlier this week in Atlanta, but brought it to the National Infantry Museum with Vallone and Muscogee County Director of Elections Nancy Boren Wednesday. There is a reason they are selling the idea just off the gates of Fort Moore.

Fort Moore is a post that trains more than 60,000 soldiers a year in everything from basic training to Ranger School, making Muscogee County and the Chattahoochee Valley home to a lot of military retirees that would make ideal poll workers.

“Veterans are respected throughout the entire country. And, also, what they bring to being a poll worker, I think is more trust in the election process. Also, more confidence in the election process and also just the experience they have. How to run things on not getting a lot of direction sometimes. And you have to sometimes think, what do I do about this information? At the end of the day, it starts at seven a.m. and needs to be finish at seven p.m. So, there’s a lot of things thrown at you, a lot of moving parts,  and they somehow can make it work. And so having veterans in that mix just helps elections be more successful.”

Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger

In addition to making good poll workers, Vallone says he knows from personal experience Georgia veterans have a deep bond with the communities they are apart of and their readiness to serve.

“I am very excited to share with you that as of today, we are over 135,000 nationwide have signed up. And we’re still going. In states and counties across the country, we are seeing veterans and military family members step up and serve their communities again as poll workers. And we’re so excited to be launching this partnership in Georgia. I know from personal experience the deep bonds that connects Georgia’s veterans with the broader community. And I know the enthusiasm out there to serve their communities, particularly as poll workers.”

Vet the Vote Director Daniel Vallone

A poll worker’s duty can span far beyond Election Day. This year’s election season includes 17 days of advanced voting here in Georgia.

Veterans interested in poll working can find information on how to sign up at vetthe.vote/pages/about-us .

Raffensperger will appear again on this week’s Sunday Conversation. It can be seen on News 3 Sunday Morning beginning at 8.

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