Politics

Georgia says website delays from prior election fixed

By Jodie Fleischer
By Jodie Fleischer

ATLANTA — It's about that time when those of us interested in up-to-the-minute poll results begin logging on to websites around the country, slowly watching the totals change.

But just two years ago, Georgia's election-results website had a major slowdown on election night, delaying results.

[REAL-TIME ELECTION RESULTS]

"If we have that problem again, it'll be the last time we have it with them as our vendor; I think they're very well aware of that," said Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp.

Kemp offered the tough talk leading up to an election night where he knows even more eyes than usual will be on Georgia's returns.

What you need to know:

  • Where do I vote? Find your polling place
  • Text poll troubles to 470-485-2WSB/470-485-2972
  • Live real-time election results from 50+ Georgia counties on wsbtv.com
  • Live coverage on wsbtv.com starting at 8 p.m. and ABC News at 7p.m.
  • Live reports from the field and analysis on Channel 2 Action News Nightbeat at 11

The most recent polls had the difference between the presidential contenders within the margin of error.

"We have been preparing for that. A presidential election is different than the last cycle we went through. There's a lot more people watching," said Kemp, adding that he made the issue a priority since technical problems can impact voter confidence, which has already been rattled leading up to this election.

In 2014, the election night results began rolling in shortly after 7 p.m. but then hit a slowdown later in the night, as polls closed in the Midwest and western states.

Kemp says the vendor's software couldn't handle the load across the country, and they had to add servers midway through the night.

"That's something we've actually been talking (about) and monitoring with our I.T. folks, and the vendor," Kemp said.

He says this time there should be enough dedicated bandwidth to avoid a disruption, and he reminds everyone the results on the state website are unofficial until the military, overseas and provisional ballots are counted.

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It usually takes several days for the actual memory cards to be driven to the state headquarters and the counts verified.

But Kemp says for election night, the state website should be reliable and ready: "I don't see any reason that we shouldn't be able to produce really good results like we always have."

The secretary of state's office says some counties will begin uploading results within just a few minutes of the polls closing, so there could be some very early returns.

But the bulk of the results will take several hours, especially if there are still a lot of people in line waiting to vote when the polls close.

Cox Media Group

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