Georgia midterm election: Raffensperger tests Bartow County voting machines

BARTOW COUNTY, Ga. - Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger joined Bartow County election officials Tuesday afternoon to conduct logic and accuracy testing on voting equipment ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Bartow County voting machine testing

What we know:

The public testing process took place one week before early voting begins in Georgia. Election workers tested about 300 voting machines in Bartow County by selecting the first candidate on every ballot line to ensure the machine printed and recorded choices accurately.

Raffensperger participated in the testing himself, selecting secondary candidates to verify system precision. Bartow County Election Supervisor Joseph Kirk explained that after a test ballot is scanned, it falls into a large sealed compartment that cannot be accessed without breaking a seal under the direct observation of sworn officials.

Kirk emphasized that the voting units are completely air-gapped, meaning they are not connected to the internet and are protected against malware threats.

"This system functions well," Kirk said. "Election security is very simple because everything's air gap. Nothing's online. It's not like your iPhone. We have to keep it up to date to make sure there's no malware on there. Things like that. This is a frozen moment in time."

With the voter registration deadline now passed, state election leaders reassured the state's more than 4 million registered voters that the upcoming midterm election will be secure.

"My job is not to make your candidate win; it's to make sure it's a free, fair, and fast election," Raffensperger said. "So we've done that; our job that we can control."

What we don't know:

State officials have not released a complete schedule for all remaining county-level equipment audits taking place across Georgia prior to Election Day. 

Upcoming equipment audits and voting timeline

What's next:

Following Tuesday's testing in Bartow County, Raffensperger and state election officials will travel to Paulding County on Wednesday to inspect and test election equipment there. Early voting in Georgia officially begins in one week.