Election workers in Cobb County, Georgia, will receive 'panic buttons'

Cobb County, Georgia, will equip its poll workers with "panic buttons" due to a "severe increase in concern for election worker safety," its Elections Director Tate Fall wrote.

The expense will be $47,250, as can be read in a county budget request that includes election expenses such as mail pamphlets with voter information and commemorative election badges for poll workers.

The devices are the size of a credit card, NBC News reported. They can, when activated, alert election authorities, police or both, depending on how they are configured. When connected to a phone, they can send GPS coordinates to relevant authorities.

According to the same media outlet, the companies behind the security mechanism, Runbeck Election Services and Response Technologies, are negotiating the sale of 1,500 buttons in at least five states.