The Chatham County Board of Elections underwent an election systems health check Monday, and the state’s top elections official was on site for the event.

Election systems health checks will be conducted in each of Georgia’s 159 counties in the run up to this year’s presidential election on Nov. 5. The health checks were a plan instituted by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who visited Savannah Monday.

After the health check at the BOE, Raffensperger took to the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce for a press briefing on his office’s efforts to boost confidence in the state’s election systems. The secretary delivered his remarks to a room of about 20 community leaders.

“We want to make sure that this is a peaceful election, that it is quiet,” Raffensperger told the group.

The local election systems health checks focus on the electronic security of the technology on site, although the Department of Homeland Security does its own checks of the building’s physical security, Raffensperger said.

The check entails scanning ballots and making sure those scanners record information properly. Raffensperger said Chatham County passed the test.

“Everything is working according to how it should be,” Raffensperger said in an interview. “The machines are still accurately recording the votes.”

Some of the election security measures Raffensperger mentioned included implementation of the new GARViS voter registration system, which he said is “tailor made” for Georgia and replaces an old system.

The SOS office has also increased encryption levels for people’s personally identifying information. Other efforts to boost confidence in the elections are a set of six “security convenings” where the Federal Bureau of Investigation, DHS and local law enforcement gather to talk about election security issues, Raffensperger said. Those convenings will continue.

“We understand that security is really important, and that’s really our job every day,” Raffensperger said.

Raffensperger also provided an update to the presidential ballot now that President Joe Biden has dropped out of the race. There is no impact to the ballot in Georgia, because the SOS office does not complete ballots until both parties have chosen a nominee.

The Democratic National Convention is slated for Aug. 19-22 in Chicago. There, delegates will select their nomination for both President and Vice President. Raffensperger said ballot preparation starts that month.

“We’ll be in good shape, and it’s a big process,” Raffensperger said.

Evan Lasseter is the city and county government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at ELasseter@gannett.com.

DECATUR, Ga. – Sen. Jon Ossoff’s Human Rights Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the health impacts of Georgia’s abortion ban on women Tuesday morning.

The subcommittee is expected to hear from OB-GYNs and other medical experts about the risks of Georgia’s restrictive 6-week abortion ban, infamously known as the heartbeat law.

The hearing begins at 9:30 a.m. ET. at Decatur City Hall, and will be streamed online.

Learn more about the professionals who will speak:

What is Georgia’s heartbeat law?

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed the “heartbeat” abortion bill, known as the Living Infants Fairness and Equality Act, into law in 2019, banning abortion after approximately six weeks.

ABORTION: READ ALL STORIES

The Georgia law includes exceptions for rape and incest, provided a police report is filed, and allows for later abortions when the mother’s life is at risk or a serious medical condition renders a fetus unviable.

However, a federal judge blocked the law in October 2019 before it could take effect, ruling it violated the right to abortion established by the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. In June 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, clearing the way for the Georgia law to take effect.

In November 2022, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney declared the ban “unequivocally unconstitutional” because it was enacted in 2019 when Roe v. Wade permitted abortions well past six weeks. However, on October 24, 2023, the Georgia Supreme Court overturned the lower court’s ruling, leaving limited abortion access unchanged for Georgia residents. Read more about Georgia’s abortion ban here.

By Alastair Talbot

Published: 14:18 BST, 22 July 2024 | Updated: 14:24 BST, 22 July 2024

College sports could have a new power couple by this fall after Carson Beck, of the Georgia Bulldogs, appeared to confirm his romance with Hanna Cavinder. 

On Sunday, the 22-year-old quarterback posted a photo dump of how his summer is going on social media, including a snap of himself holding hands with the Miami Hurricanes basketball star. 

Beck captioned his post with the acronym, ‘gvo,’ which means ‘good vibes only.’

Earlier this month, the duo sparked speculation that they were dating after they got cozy on July Fourth weekend.

In a video shared on TikTok, Hanna can be seen walking on the street with both of Beck’s arms wrapped around her, while Haley, her twin, was with her boyfriend and Dallas Cowboys tight end, Jake Ferguson. 

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Carson Beck and Hannah Cavinder appear to be a couple by holding hands in a snap on Insta

Beck is the eighth highest ranked collegiate athlete on On3’s NIL 100 with a valuation of $1.4M

The Cavinder sisters have emerged in the spotlight since they first went viral on TikTok during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, four years ago. 

Along with Beck, who ranks as the eighth collegiate athlete with the highest Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) valuation ($1.4million), the Cavinders are one of the most followed personalities in college. 

Haley ranks No. 32 with an NIL valuation of $895,000 while Hanna is two spots behind ($852k), according to the On3 NIL 100.

Beck, meanwhile, has been on Georgia’s roster since 2020, where he redshirted his first season on campus. 

He served as a backup to Stetson Bennett on both of Georgia’s national championship teams in 2021 and 2022. 

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Earlier this summer, the Cavinder twins revealed they’re returning to Miami for one last year

Meanwhile, Beck will be eyeing a third national championship on the Georgia Bulldogs this fall

Beck’s first full season as a starter saw Georgia’s 27-game winning streak snapped, missing the College Football Playoff. 

However, the Bulldogs finished the season 13-1 after a 63-3 win in the Orange Bowl over Florida State. 

The Cavinder Twins are entering their final college season, reuniting at Miami after a year away from the court to pursue other opportunities.

‘We both knew we had unfinished business on the court and wanted to give it one more shot, together,’ Haley said earlier this month.

She nearly played for TCU before de-comitting to return to Miami in April.

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