Supervisor Compton to lead county input on statewide election form redesign; pilots planned

Irwin County Election Supervisor Ethan Compton told the board March 11 that a firm working with the Georgia Secretary of State has recommended updates to statewide election forms to reduce redundant information, improve readability and ease poll-worker use.

Compton said the Secretary of State’s Office and the Georgia Association of Voter Registration and Elections Officials have asked him to lead county input on the design. He said the county will likely pilot the revised forms in the June and November public service commission elections in 2025 and that his GAVREO Voting System Committee will pilot new chain-of-custody documentation to assess whether it should be recommended for statewide use.

During public comment, Technician Evelyn Romans asked whether the new forms would be available as electronic, form-fillable documents and whether they would be more concise. Compton said making electronically fillable versions a top priority and that a primary goal of the redesign is to make documents clearer and briefer to reduce errors and improve readability for poll workers. Resident Helen Moses asked why the elections office remains open between elections; Compton said the office must continuously maintain voter rolls and process updates for nearly 6,700 registered voters and that jury duty is required of citizens regardless of voter-registration status.

Compton did not provide a final statewide rollout date; he said pilots this year will inform a statewide rollout in time for the 2026 election cycle. The board took no formal action on the pilots at this meeting.