Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger stopped in Glennville

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger stopped in Glennville Wednesday.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger spoke to the Glennville Rotary Club Wednesday, emphasizing the importance of restoring voter confidence before the November election.

Raffensperger took questions from Rotary club members all with a main message Georgians are voting more than they have before.

“Back in the May primary, we had 1,800,000 people show up to vote. We’re having record turnout. That’s 800,000 more people than we’ve ever had before. We’ve had 17 days of early voting, no excuse absentee voting,” Brad Raffensperger said.

While his opponent in the primary was backed by former President Donald Trump Raffensperger says one thing brings his party together.

“At the end of the day, I think we all want the same thing, fair and honest elections. I’ve shown that I’ve comprised fair and honest elections for everyone. I think that’s what people want to know. Their Secretary of State, even though you may be on one particular aisle or another, I’ll make sure that I’ll have fair and honest elections for everyone in Georgia.”

The Secretary of State also spoke about what he calls the positive impact of the sweeping elections reform bill -- Senate Bill 202… but not everyone is on the same page about the changes it’s caused, including democratic secretary of state candidate Bee Nguyen – who voted against it as a state representative.

“The bill contained many provisions that were restrictive to Georgians, including reducing the timeframe in which you can request and receive an absentee ballot. Reducing access to secure drop boxes which were widely used by both sides of the aisle.”

Nguyen says this has an impact on Georgia’s voters.

“We do know that at this particular time, voters are very concerned about the future of our democracy. We do know in fact that our democracy is fragile. Part of the task of secretary of state is making sure that there’s transparency and public trust when it comes to voting and being able to cast your ballot without barriers.”

Meanwhile Raffensperger reminding voters of the importance of casting their ballots.

“It’s really important to understand that you’re important, your vote does count, and were going to have fair and honest elections.”

Raffensperger says the state expects record turnout for a midterm election this November.

Ted Metz is also running for Secretary of State as the libertarian candidate.

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