Georgia election board urges voting software update over privacy

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FILE PHOTO (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

ATLANTA - The Georgia State Election Board has approved a resolution urging Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to update voting machine software to address concerns about voter privacy.

The board passed the resolution Monday in a 3-2 vote. Chairman John Fervier and Sara Tindall Ghazal, the board’s only Democrat, opposed it, according to Democracy Docket.

What the resolution calls for

The resolution, introduced by board member Carolyn Roddy, calls for software updates to address what the board describes as vulnerabilities affecting election security and ballot secrecy. Critics say a security concern could make it possible to determine how people voted, according to Georgia Public Broadcasting.

The resolution also urges Raffensperger’s office to preserve copies of election system server and scanner hard drives before making changes. It requests that those copies be provided to the board, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice for examination or investigation.

It authorizes the board’s executive director to seek assistance from federal agencies and other sources concerning the failure to update the software.

Timing and cost draw objections

Roddy argued that the updates are necessary to protect voters.

"It is irresponsible to have all of us voting on machines that we know have known vulnerabilities," she said, according to Georgia Public Broadcasting.

The resolution says the voting system manufacturer has agreed to provide the software update at no charge. However, Ghazal said implementing it would require personnel and argued that the work could not be completed before the midterm elections, GPB reported.

Raffensperger’s office told GPB that previous requests for funding to update the machines had been denied. The office said the board’s request came too late and was at least $30 million short of the funding needed.