There has been a lot of talk about election security over the last year. Now, there is word that the national controversy over Russians meddling in the 2016 election may be closer to home than many believed. In a recent report from the U.S. House of Representatives, Georgia was named as one of the top four states with vulnerable election systems. The report says that in 2016, Russian hackers tried to penetrate the state system and maybe even county election offices.
Georgia’s First District Congressman Buddy Carter says he’s concerned but seems confident. “Just the fact that we were able to identify that they were trying to hack in I think tells you that we are paying attention and that we do have it under control,” he said, adding, “I think you can be assured that you’re voting within a safe and secure system.”
Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who ironically is on the ballot himself in the Republican primary, remains adamant the system is safe. He says that voting machines are not hooked up to the internet, making it less likely an individual machine could be hacked.
Critics counter by saying that machines tally votes internally and have no paper trail. So, if something did go wrong, there would be no way to guarantee a proper vote count.
Full Article: A closer look: Election system security in Georgia.