Hundreds of election officials discuss voter registration, voting machines, and more in Savannah

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Around 600 people participated in this year’s Georgia Association of Voter Registration and Election Officials convention, discussing ways to assist voters effectively this year.

Election officials joined in person at the Savannah Convention Center and online to ask questions about handling certain operations in their county or learn of new regulations they must follow.

“There’s always room for improvement. There’s always ways to make things better,” said Greene County Elections Director Rebecca Anglin. “We learn from each other. We have great, great counties here where we can say, ‘Hey, what worked for you that might work for me?’”

Anglin reflected on her career, starting as a teenager working at the polls, which led her to a leadership position. She emphasized the importance of leaders like her now reaching the youth and getting them excited to vote.

She said discussions at this convention include how to incorporate social media in that way.

Blake Evans, Elections Director with the Secretary of State’s Office, said they make presentations for training services for election processes at this convention. He said the local election officials are some of the best in the country, working throughout the year to make sure they are prepared for the 2025 and 2026 elections.

2024 saw the highest turnout of voters in the state’s history, according to Evans, so they expect to see high turnout again this year.

“There’s going to be a lot of interest. There’s going to be a lot of early voting opportunities, so our counties are looking at how to provide those opportunities and serve the voters best,” he said. “They’re going to have short waits when they show up to vote, and our counties are very focused.”

State Election Board Chairman John Fervier said an issue they will discuss is how they can adjust after lawmakers voted to remove QR codes from the ballots.

“They haven’t really funded a solution to that yet, and so that’s something that has to be resolved in the legislature this year,” he said.

He said they are also keeping an eye on financial support from the statehouse for updated technology, like voting machines.

“I’m a big, big supporter of the technology that we use. I think that it’s been great for Georgia and the voters of Georgia,” he said. “I hope that the legislature will continue trying to get on that path of using technology as a solution for voting.”

He gave thanks to the many in the crowd on Tuesday for their hours of work before, during, and after elections for voters. Claiming last year as one of the best elections in the state’s history for quick lines at polling sites and positive feedback from voters.

“I’m just extremely grateful to them. I was meeting people in their 70s and 80s that come in there and worked 12-hour shifts. It’s amazing to me what a wonderful job they do,” he said. “Whether it’s a Savannah or a Brunswick or any place down here on the coast, I found nothing but positive people and a good experience.”

Carolyn Williams traveled to Savannah from Terrell County, where she is the Elections Supervisor. She said they go through the whole process at the convention, something incredibly helpful for her, her team, and the hundreds of others in the room.

She’s created lasting partnerships from attending this.

“You’re going to have names that you can say, ‘well, who can I call to help me with this?’” she said. “It’s like one big family here.

Polk County Elections Director Noah Beck shared similar feelings about the significance of this convention.

“We kind of get to knowledge-pile and take away and benefit from what might be working five hours from me in the corner of Georgia,” he said. “I don’t get that opportunity very often to speak with those folks.”