Brad Raffensperger says the increased number of absentee ballots creates a strain on county election officials. Author: Michael King (11ALIVE) Updated: 8:09 AM CST December 28, 2020 ATLANTA — Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, along with several county election officials, is calling for changes to the no-excuse absentee ballot request rule in order to help reform the state guidelines. Currently, the state requires three weeks of early, in-person voting, election day voting, and what the secretary's office calls "unfettered, no-excuse" absentee ballot voting, which they say strains county resources and budgets. “In light of the past few months and the overwhelming amount of paper absentee ballots that have been requested, processed and counted, I would support legislation that would require all applicants to provide a reason to receive an absentee ballot by mail,” said Deidre Holden, Paulding County Elections and Registration Supervisor, in a release from Raffensperger's office on Wednesday. “It would also help with the expense on a county budget due to the extreme cost incurred in the processing of a ballot from beginning to end.”