Thursday, March 19, 2009

Forsyth Chairman of Elections will serve on BRAVO


Gary Smith, Chairman of the Board of Registrations and Elections in Forsyth County, Georgia, has been elected to the board of directors of the Operation BRAVO Foundation, a 501(c)3 foundation whose purpose is to improve voting accessibility for American citizens overseas, as designated in the federal Uniform and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). BRAVO is the acronym for Bring Remote Access to Voters Overseas.

The announcement of Smith's selection was made by Pat Hollarn, president of BRAVO and formerly the Supervisor of Elections for 20 years in Okaloosa County, Florida. "Gary Smith has an outstanding reputation in the nation-wide election community for the many improvements and high standards he has instilled in the Forsyth County elections office. His business experience, especially overseas, has great value to the foundation, and his dedication to increase voting opportunities especially for our military service members matches the foundation's goal," said Hollarn. Smith has been highly recognized by the national Election Center and was awarded the designation of Certified Election and Registration Administrator (CERA). He is a sought-after speaker at other state and national conferences, and has provided testimony to Congress on election issues.

The first pilot project of BRAVO was the Okaloosa Distance Balloting Pilot, which allowed military and civilian voters at designated locations in England, Germany, and Japan to vote their official ballot by secure electronic transmission, and the foundation is now working on developing an expanded pilot for voters from several states stationed in combat zones to have better ballot access electronically and securely.

The Operation BRAVO Foundation exists to help disenfranchised U.S. overseas civilian and military voters effectively exercise their right to reliably cast a secure and private ballot.

For further information on Operation Bravo, please review our website at www.operationbravo.org.

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