COLUMBIA COUNTY, Ga. (WJBF) – The Columbia County Board of Elections is thinking about using a new software, aimed to make routine voting list maintenance easier and more efficient.

EagleAI NETwork is a tool that gathers data related to registered voters and compiles it into one database to help election officials make informed decisions based on it.

If a registered voter has died, moved out of state, or shouldn’t be on the voting list for any other reason – the system would essentially flag that person, and the election officials would know to reach out to them. 

“It’s just a process to help clean up the voter rolls. Nothing would be removed, no one would be removed based on anything that flagged,” said Nancy Gay, the Executive Director for the Columbia County Board of Elections.

It could potentially be efficient in other ways, too.

“If a party affiliation or if a candidate wanted to mail out information to a voter, it would clean that up, too,” Gay said. “Or if we wanted to mail out a flyer giving all the election dates to all the registered voters in Columbia County, it would help have a clean list and we wouldn’t be wasting mailings and postage.”

The creator, Dr. Rick Richards, has already held a public demonstration about the system for Columbia County voters – but, election officials want there to be another one before they decide whether to use it in future elections.

“I think it’s intriguing that, if his data works and if the program works the way he plans for it, then let’s run that voter list in a comparison of our data with his data, and let’s see how many it shows that have moved out of state,” Gay said.

The tool isn’t a necessity, but Gay believes it could be helpful, and they are doing due diligence before trying it out.

“We’ve checked with our county attorney, he’s given the thumbs up. But, I just want to make sure the voter understands, and anyone that’s concerned, give them an opportunity to come talk to me about it, or talk to Dr. Richards, or see it,” Gay said. “And just understand that we are not basing any decisions on it, we’re just using it as a tool to reach out to people who may not be in Columbia County anymore.”

Gay said the decision to use EagleAI is ultimately up to the board, and they will discuss it more at their next meeting on October 17th.

She also wants anyone who has questions to reach out to her. Click here for that information.