Just one week remains for voter registration in the upcoming general primary election.
    With the deadline looming and early voting periods quickly approaching, Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp is making stops throughout the state to meet with local election officials.
    Monday, Kemp’s itinerary wound through Statesboro, where he visited the Bulloch County Registrar’s Office and, later, Forest Heights Country Club to speak with members of the Rotary Club of Statesboro.
    Kemp was the featured speaker for club’s weekly meeting, offering information regarding the upcoming election and a brief update about developments being made by his office.
    “Obviously, this is a huge election year. I have spent a lot of time going around and visiting with the county election officials we work hand in hand with,” Kemp said. “We have really tried to have good communications to make sure everyone is prepared for the elections. We have done a lot of training.
    “Elections have really become a full-time business, even in smaller counties,” he said. “Not to mention counties like Bulloch, where you have a lot of voters and a lot going on.”
    Kemp said it has been a busy year for the Secretary of State’s Office, which is still working to distribute voter registration cards after legislative and local redistricting moved many residents to new voting districts this summer.
    He told the lunch crowd about an online resource designed to help alleviate any voter confusion by providing various election information.
    “On the elections front, we have a great website,” he said. “If you go to the Secretary of State’s homepage (www.sos.georgia.gov) and click the ‘MVP’ button, which stands for ‘my voter page,’ you can put your first initial, your last name, date of birth and the county in which you live. The site will pull up all of your individualized voting information — where your precinct is, early voting locations and times and you can track your absentee ballot.”
    “And one of the neatest things we have done,” he said, “is become one of the first states in the country to implement the ‘Move Act.’ We did this, at no cost of the taxpayers, to have an electronic ballot delivery to men and women serving in the military overseas.
    “There is a way, now, for the military voter to request an electronic ballot. They just need a computer and printer,” Kemp said. “We are really cutting in half the time it takes for military absentee voting.”
    Kemp also boasted about new election-night reporting that will be featured on the Secretary of State website during coming elections.
    The website will make available county-by-county and precinct-by-precinct election results and interactive maps showing what voters decide, he said.
    Kemp wrapped up the short presentation by noting recent changes to the way his office registers corporations and licenses Georgia’s professional workers.
    He also emphasized a dedication to make all business conducted by the secretary of state accessible by state voters.
    “One of the things I campaigned on was making sure we were transparent in our agency and were good stewards of the taxpayers’ dollar,” Kemp said. “We have been line-item budgeting for several years now, and we have put that budget up on the internet for everyone to view it.”
    “It is a way of truly holding us accountable,” he said. “And it has helped us streamline our agency. Because every year we ask that question: ‘Can we do this a better way, or shift these resources to a better place.’”
    From Statesboro, Kemp moved on to Waynesboro to meet with election workers in Burke County.
   
    Jeff Harrison may be reached at (912) 489-9454.