11 Alive: Gabriel Sterling talks security measures, State Election Board rule changes

11 Alive interviews Chief Operating Officer of the Georgia Secretary of State Gabriel Sterling about recent rule changes and security procedures for the 2024 election.

We saw Cobb County purchase panic buttons for their election workers. What steps are being taken to keep poll workers safe and how much do you worry about their safety this year?

We always worry about that. It’s not just poll workers but also election workers at Election Day offices because we always worry about having bomb threats there too. We’ve instituted a tool, a texting tool, that every polling manager has for every county that opts in, that notifies us with real information. A panic button is great, the problem is a panic button gives you no context. Is there just a jerk in the polling location yelling? Or is there a guy with a gun outside? So we have a texting tool that will go to the county elections director, the state elections director, and local law enforcement.

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