As Americans, we’ve always believed that democracy is not a spectator sport. It’s something we actively build, protect and defend. Now, in Georgia, the principles we hold dear are under threat by a series of recently adopted and proposed election rules that could make it harder for voters to exercise their most fundamental right: the right to vote. These rules will not only undermine our election process, but they also will put an unfair burden on our election workers, including the thousands of veterans who have stepped up to serve their country.
The reason these proposals should concern us all is simple: They’ll unnecessarily slow certification and introduce confusion. These new rules would require hand-counting ballots during advance voting and after polls close on Election Day, even though Georgia’s voting systems already undergo rigorous testing and studies show that hand counts produce inaccurate results. Adding more steps, such as hand-counting ballots, isn’t about improving security; it’s about adding complexity, confusion and delay.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
When we talk about the people who make our elections work, we’re talking about everyday Americans who put in long hours, often as volunteers. They’re working hard because they believe in our democracy. Among them are veterans — people who’ve already put their lives on the line for this country and are now continuing their service by helping to ensure that our elections run smoothly. This year, more than 165,000 veterans and military family members have signed up to be poll workers across the nation. In Georgia, many of those veterans are the ones standing at polling places, making sure every vote gets counted, and they do it with the same sense of duty and discipline that defined their military service.
But these rules will make their job even harder. Imagine working a 14-hour day at the polls and then being told you’ve got to stay even longer to count ballots by hand — after machines have already done the job accurately. That’s not right. It’s a burden that’s not needed, and it risks driving away the very people who’ve answered the call to protect our democracy again and again.
We’ve seen it time and time again. Veterans bring unparalleled dedication to everything they do. They’re trained to work under pressure, to lead with integrity, and to ensure that every mission is completed. But even they can’t perform at their best if they’re pushed beyond reasonable limits. These proposed rules risk overwhelming poll workers, leading to exhaustion and creating more room for human error — exactly what these rules claim to prevent.
So, what’s really going on here? These rules aren’t being proposed because there’s some widespread problem with Georgia’s elections. Quite the opposite — Georgia’s elections are secure, and the existing safeguards work. Multiple recounts of the 2020 election proved that. So why add new, burdensome rules? Because there are some who want to sow doubt about our electoral process, who want to make it harder for people to vote, and who benefit from making democracy seem chaotic and inefficient. But we can’t let that happen.
This isn’t just about poll workers. It’s about the voters themselves. Veterans, like all Georgians, deserve a voting process that’s fair, efficient and accessible. Veterans with disabilities or those struggling with PTSD already face barriers to voting, and these proposed changes could make it even harder by increasing wait times and delaying results. That’s not what democracy is supposed to be about.
At a time when veterans are stepping up to serve in record numbers, we should be making their jobs easier, not harder. We should be ensuring that all eligible Georgians can cast their votes and know the results of an election without unnecessary delays or confusion. We should be protecting the integrity of our elections, not undermining it with solutions in search of problems.
These rules don’t strengthen democracy — they complicate it. And that’s not just bad for veterans or poll workers — that’s bad for every Georgian. It’s bad for America.
So I urge the governor of Georgia and the Georgia State Election Board to do what’s right. Reconsider and reject these rules. Let’s focus on making sure our elections are fair, efficient and accessible for everyone. That’s how we honor our veterans. That’s how we protect our democracy. That’s how we move this country forward — together.
Chris Purdy is the founder and chief executive officer of the Chamberlain Network, an organization dedicated to empowering veterans to protect democratic values and institutions. He is a former combat engineer in the Army National Guard and an Iraq War veteran, a former special education teacher and school administrator, and a Truman National Security Project member.
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