Local Georgia officials equip election workers with 'panic buttons' to combat rising threats
Officials in a key Georgia county are taking a new step to ensure election workers’ safety amid rising threats, equipping them with “panic buttons.”
Officials in a key county in battleground Georgia are taking a new step to ensure election workers’ safety amid rising threats, equipping them with so-called panic buttons that would allow them to quickly contact authorities in emergencies.
The Board of Commissioners in Cobb County, a suburban area northwest of Atlanta, this week approved $47,250 in funding to purchase around 200 devices for election workers ahead of another heated presidential election this fall.
The panic buttons are being sold by Runbeck Election Services, an Arizona-based company that prints ballots and sells election equipment, including printers, to counties across the country, through a partnership with the Ohio-based security company Response Technologies. The devices are roughly the size of a credit card and can be worn on lanyards or tucked in pockets. They pair with users’ cellphones to dispatch GPS locations to the authorities when activated.
The badges, which cost $150 to $250 per year, can be programmed to send alerts to election authorities, law enforcement or both, said Matt Volkerding, vice president of sales at Response Technologies.
The two companies partnered nearly a month ago to sell the panic buttons to election workers this year and are already in talks to sell 1,500 badges in at least five states. Runbeck approached its existing clients and has been presenting the product at statewide election conferences.
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