Georgia leaders consider potential overhaul of state voting systems
Georgia lawmakers hear from vendors of new voting tech
Vendors presented prospective election equipment at the State Capitol as lawmakers evaluate a statewide voting system overhaul. Meanwhile, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit seeking unredacted voter files, and state officials clashed over current voting machine security.
ATLANTA - Big changes could be ahead for how Georgia handles its elections. State leaders spent the day exploring alternative voting systems as part of a statewide election overhaul, while state election board members questioned whether current voting systems are secure.
Georgia election system overhaul
What we know:
Vendors hoping to cash in on the overhaul of Georgia's election system descended on the Capitol Thursday, holding election equipment demonstrations for a special committee that will make recommendations to determine how Georgians will cast their ballots in future elections.
However, any new technology remains years away from implementation.
While state lawmakers focus on future election tech, Georgia’s current voter data was the center of a major court ruling this week. A federal judge has dismissed a Department of Justice lawsuit that sought Georgia’s unredacted voter registration records.
State officials successfully argued in court that releasing those files would compromise voter privacy.
"This lawsuit was always about protecting the privacy of Georgians personal information." said Robert Sinners of the Georgia Secretary of State's Office. "State law is crystal clear on this. We cannot give personally identifying information to third parties."
Voter privacy in Georgia elections was front and center at a special called meeting of the State Election Board on Thursday. Some members and speakers again raised concerns over security researchers flagging a flaw in Georgia's current voting equipment that could allow someone to see how an individual voted.
"As everyone should know, ballot secrecy is a big issue that is granted in the constitution of Georgia," Grubbs said.
The Secretary of State’s office is pushing back against those concerns, stating it has already implemented changes to fully resolve the issue ahead of Election Day, while criticizing board members for raising the alarms.
"The State Election Board is simply not credible, and they are trying to purposely throw chaos in the 11th hour," Sinners said. "It's wrong and it's shameful. And it's not protecting; it's not in the best interest of Georgia."
Implementation timeline and logistics
What we don't know:
State officials have not disclosed specific costs or a target date for purchasing and deploying any new voting equipment recommended by the legislative committee.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from statements from the Georgia Secretary of State's Office, proceedings from the State Election Board meeting, and court rulings regarding Georgia voter registration records.