John King: Georgia is a national leader in election integrity

The Atlanta Journal Constitution | July 22, 2024
John King

As Georgians, we hold dear the foundational principles of our democracy, chief among them being the sacred right to vote. This right, bestowed upon us by the sacrifices of our forebears, is a solemn duty that must be protected. As we enter the 2024 general election, I implore every eligible voter to recognize the importance of participating in safe and secure elections.

Restoring trust and safeguarding the integrity of our electoral system is paramount to preserving the principles of freedom and democracy upon which our nation was founded. In recent years, our elections have faced unprecedented challenges. From foreign adversaries attempting to sow discord to politically motivated groups on both sides of the aisle pushing the boundaries of election law, the sanctity of our elections has been under siege and, with it, public trust in elections. In fact, a recent survey from RightCount, an organization committed to increasing voter confidence in elections, found that only 10 percent of Republican and Republican-leaning independents are very confident in the 2024 elections.

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Thankfully, Georgia remains a national leader in seeking to advance common-sense reform measures meant to harden and secure the integrity of our election systems. Georgia verifies citizenship status when people register to vote to ensure that only U.S. citizens are voting in our elections. Georgia also has some of best voter list maintenance in the country, sharing information with other states to ensure accurate and up-to-date voter rolls. We require voter identification for all forms of voting. Georgia also performs risk-limiting audits of its election results after every statewide election. Risk-limiting audits are the gold standard of election audits, using statistics to hand review a sufficient portion of the cast ballots to confirm that the reported result was correct. A risk-liming audit of the results of the 2024 Republican presidential primary, conducted on the same voting equipment that was used in 2020, confirmed former President Donald Trump’s victory over former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

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I’m a proud Republican, but we can all agree that the importance of secure elections transcends partisan politics. Ensuring public trust requires that the process by which election rules are made be orderly and transparent and follow all applicable laws. The July 12 impromptu State Election Board meeting fell short of this standard. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Republican Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr warned all members of the board that the emergency meeting very likely violated the state’s Open Meetings Act. The rule of law is no matter of convenience; it protects our freedoms, and we cannot have secure, accurate elections without it.

As the Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire commissioner, a U.S. combat veteran and a former law enforcement officer, I am committed to working tirelessly to ensure that all citizens can exercise their right to vote in a safe and secure manner. Through active collaboration with election officials, law enforcement agencies and grassroots organizations, we will continue to strengthen our electoral infrastructure and safeguard the integrity of our democracy for years to come.

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To read Commissioner King’s op-ed in its entirety, click here. To learn more about RightCount’s operations in Georgia, visit www.Rightcount.org/georgia.