Glynn County Board of Elections gives voters front-row seats for voting machine testing

2 most expensive mid-term races in country are in Georgia and Florida

The midterm election is just two months away and candidates are pouring millions of dollars into their campaigns.

Two of the most expensive races in the country are in Georgia and Florida with Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock being the biggest spender so far.

He’s put $31.8 million into his race since January and still has $22 million on hand according to the Federal Election Commission.

His challenger, Herschel Walker, has only raised $13 million and has slowed ad spending.

The second-highest spender is Val Demings, in her campaign against Sen. Marco Rubio in Florida. She’s spent $27.5 million this year and Rubio has spent $21 million.

A lot of work goes into making sure elections are transparent and accurate. That’s why the Glynn County Board of Elections is giving voters a front-row seat to the process.

People can watch as election workers test out voting machines Wednesday morning at the Elections Office in Brunswick.

The machines were most recently put through their paces during the Georgia primary in May, but they’ll be needed again when early voting begins in October. These tests are required by law.

During the process, the data from the state’s election project is downloaded into each voting machine. Workers will make sure the results shown are identical to what was entered.

Christopher Channel, the election board’s director, said he has never tested a voting machine where the results were inaccurate. He also understands the increased interest in the process.

“Prior to 2020, in the time that I had been here, we had never had anybody come and observe the logistics and accuracy testing process,” Channel said. “And since 2020, we’ve had probably half a dozen or so that have shown up to observe the L and A process. And as we go through it, we explain every step of what we’re doing.”

Voters can watch the testing from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

As a reminder, the last day to register to vote in Georgia for November’s general election is Oct. 11 with early voting beginning Oct. 17.


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