Georgia: Voting rights activists move to block a plan to close two-thirds of polling places in a majority black county | The Washington Post

Voting rights activists in Georgia say they will launch a petition drive in an effort to collect enough signatures of registered voters to block a proposal to close more than two-thirds of polling precincts in a predominantly black county ahead of this fall’s general election. The plan to shutter the voting sites in Randolph County, a rural community about 2½ hours south of Atlanta, has drawn dozens of local residents and progressive groups to two public hearings in recent days. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a formal protest with the county’s board of elections. Brian Kemp, Georgia’s secretary of state, which oversees elections operations throughout the state, has issued a statement urging Randolph County officials to “abandon this effort.” Kemp also is the Republican nominee in one of the country’s most-watched gubernatorial contests. The Democratic nominee, Stacey Abrams, a former state legislator, is seeking to become the nation’s first black female governor.

Georgia: Kemp wants verifiable voting — after his race | Associated Press

Republican gubernatorial nominee Brian Kemp says Georgia’s aging electronic voting machines should be replaced, coming around to a position critics say he’s resisted for eight years as the state’s top elections official. There’s just one thing – Kemp says it can’t be done in time for his own election this November. The secretary of state is asking companies for proposals to implement new machines that produce verifiable paper records in time for the next presidential election in 2020. Meanwhile, he’s dismissing experts who say the electronic machines are susceptible to hacking and that there’s no way to confirm the accuracy of their vote counts. Kemp is defending the system in place since 2002 as “accurate and secure” enough for this fall’s elections, even though it produces no paper backups that can be audited to make sure each voter’s choice is reflected in the tally.

Georgia: Counties respond to hacking, security threat | Atlanta Journal Constitution

As Georgians prepare to cast their ballots in a nationally watched gubernatorial race, the security and reliability of the state’s election system remains a point of concern for many voters and security experts. Polls show that a large percentage of Americans believe there’s a concerted effort underway by foreign entities to undermine American Democracy and promote discord, using everything from fake Facebook accounts to Russian Twitter bots. But perhaps nothing strikes fear in the hearts of voters in Georgia and across the country more than the notion that their ballots could be changed by hackers. In the metro area, elections officials in Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett, Henry, Clayton and Fayette counties told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution they are working with the Secretary of State’s office to ensure every ballot cast in November is counted and reported accurately. They say their systems and processes are battle tested and secure. Still, there’s a growing clamor for more precautions. The state’s weaknesses have been well documented. Georgia uses electronic voting machines and is one of only five states that don’t have paper backups that can be used to audit results.

Georgia: Voter records exposure raises election security concerns | SC Magazine

Despite Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s contentions that reports questioning the security of the state’s election systems are fake news, a breach discovered in 2016 exposed the records of more than six million George voters, according to a lawsuit. “The data was open to anyone in the world who had an internet connection,” said Marilyn Marks, executive director of the Coalition for Good Governance, one of the plaintiffs in the suit cited by CNN. “Even when confronted with a security disaster, she noted, Kemp, who’s currently running at a GOP gubernatorial candidate, blamed “managers under his supervision for their incompetence and [left] the security disaster without so much as a forensic review of the impacts of the security failures.”

Georgia: Concerns over Georgia’s election security grow | WGCL

Concerns over Georgia’s election security are growing as November’s election draws closer. To advocate for you, we asked for a sit-down with the man running Fulton County’s elections. CBS46 obtained new details about the extent of suspected Russian probing of some of Fulton County’s website, and what going to paper ballots might really entail. Robert Mueller’s indictment of a dozen Russians fueled the fire. “I think the Russians were mostly focused on public opinion through social media,” said Richard Barron, the Fulton County director of registration and elections. Still, court documents reveal several Russian operatives checked out websites for Georgia and, specifically, Fulton and Cobb counties. Since we’re advocating for transparency, we wanted to find out what that really means.

Georgia: Group files lawsuit to force Georgia to adopt paper ballots | The Hill

A coalition in Georgia is filing a lawsuit to force the state to adopt paper ballots in the upcoming midterm elections, a move it claims will improve election security. The Coalition for Good Governance is alleging in a federal lawsuit that Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp, Georgia’s current secretary of state, failed to adequately safeguard the state’s voting system from a breach that allegedly left 6 million Georgia voters’ records exposed, CNN reported. The group is claiming Georgia is one of the only states left that does not use a paper ballot, which makes it harder to verify election results. 

Georgia: 6 million Georgia voters’ records exposed: ‘Could have easily been compromised’ | CNN

Georgia’s shotgun-toting, Trump-style Republican candidate for governor Brian Kemp has sought to assure voters that his state’s election system is secure and that any allegations to the contrary are “fake news.” But Kemp, who is also the secretary of state in charge of Georgia’s elections, is now being accused in a federal lawsuit of failing to secure his state’s voting system and allowing a massive breach that exposed voter records and other sensitive election information. The allegations in the lawsuit come as the subject of election security has come into focus nationally, particularly as the November’s midterm elections approach. The suit describes how a private researcher discovered the records of more than 6 million registered Georgia voters, password files and encryption keys could be accessed online by anyone looking. Days after the lawsuit was filed, technicians erased the hard drives of the server in question.

Georgia: Election Security Becomes A Political Issue In Georgia Governor’s Race | NPR

In the fall of 2016, as reports of Russian-backed hacking of state election systems were surfacing, Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brian Kemp, rejected federal offers of help to secure his state’s voting systems. “The question remains whether the federal government will subvert the Constitution to achieve the goal of federalizing elections under the guise of security,” Kemp told a technology website. Now, Kemp is the Republican nominee to be Georgia’s next governor, and in another election season where cyber-attacks are in the air, his record securing the state’s elections is becoming a campaign issue. This past week, the Georgia Democratic Party called for Kemp’s resignation, citing in part his response to Russian-backed hacking attempts of state voting systems in 2016.

Georgia: Companies asked to submit paper-based voting systems for Georgia | Atlanta Journal Constitution

Voting machine companies will submit proposals this month to replace Georgia’s touchscreens with hand-marked paper ballots or ballot-marking devices. The Secretary of State’s Office posted a request for information Wednesday to review companies’ voting systems and their costs, which could range from roughly $30 million to $150 million. A competitive bidding process could begin next year. Georgia has used electronic touchscreens since 2002, a voting system that lacks a verifiable paper backup to ensure accuracy. Election integrity advocates say electronic voting computers could be hacked.

Georgia: Activists collect tales of voting problems in Georgia primary | McClatchy

It appeared, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s website, that Habersham County’s Mud Creek precinct in northeastern Georgia had 276 registered voters ahead of the state’s primary elections in May. Some 670 ballots were cast, according to the Georgia secretary of state’s office, indicating a 243 percent turnout. But on Tuesday at 10 a.m., the number of registered voters on the secretary of state’s website was changed for Mud Creek to 3,704 registered voters, reflecting a more likely turnout of about 18 percent. The odd turnout figures last Friday were filed as part of a federal lawsuit against the state by election security activists that included a number of sworn statements and exhibits from activists and voters who experienced a series of bizarre and confusing issues at the state’s polling places. That confusion comes amid swelling public concern for the security of Georgia’s voting systems. Georgia is one of four states that uses voting machines statewide that produce no paper record for voters to verify, making them difficult to audit, experts say.

Georgia: State defends voting system despite 243-percent turnout in one precinct | Ars Technica

With worn-out clichés about the dead voting, Chicago used to be the poster child for voter fraud. But if any state is a poster child for terrible election practices, it is surely Georgia. Bold claims demand bold evidence, and unfortunately there’s plenty; on Monday, McClatchy reported a string of irregularities from the state’s primary election in May, including one precinct with a 243-percent turnout. McClatchy’s data comes from a federal lawsuit filed against the state. In addition to the problem in Habersham County’s Mud Creek precinct, where it appeared that 276 registered voters managed to cast 670 ballots, the piece describes numerous other issues with both voter registration and electronic voting machines. (In fact it was later corrected to show 3,704 registered voters in the precinct.)

Georgia: Could Georgia Have Paper Ballots By November? Look To Virginia | WABE

A federal judge wants to know what it would take to shift Georgia to a paper ballot voting system in the three months before the November election. A former Virginia election official says it’s possible. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg ordered the Georgia secretary of state’s office, among others, to look into the “concrete realities” of moving to a paper ballot election in a time crunch. The move is in response to a lawsuit, filed in July by a group of election integrity activists, meant to stop Georgia from using electronic voting machines that have no paper backup. Liz Howard, a former deputy commissioner with Virginia’s Department of Elections, said that state pulled off very quick transitions across dozens of counties, twice. “We have hands on experience with ‘this is doable,’ how it’s doable, the partners that we worked with and working with local election officials while they’re making the transition,” Howard said.

Georgia: Lawsuit details multiple flaws in Georgia election system | McClatchy

Habersham County’s Mud Creek precinct in northeastern Georgia had 276 registered voters ahead of the state’s primary elections in May. But 670 ballots were cast, according to the Georgia secretary of state’s office, indicating a 243 percent turnout. The discrepancy, included in a number of sworn statements and exhibits filed as part of a federal lawsuit against the state by election security activists, comes amid swelling public concern for the security of Georgia’s voting systems. Georgia is one of four states that uses voting machines statewide that produce no paper record for voters to verify, making them difficult to audit, experts say. And cybersecurity experts have warned that there were security flaws on the state election website leading up to the 2016 contest that permitted the download and manipulation of voter information.

Georgia: Voting registration verification law faces legal threat | Atlanta Journal Constitution

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp is rejecting a lawsuit threat from a civil rights organization over the state’s “exact match” method for verifying voter registration applications. The threatened lawsuit would allege that the “exact match” system has a high error rate and a negative impact on African-American, Latino and Asian-American voters, according to a July 18 letter from the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law to Kemp. Kemp, a Republican, said the potential lawsuit is a political stunt as he’s running for governor. He faces Democrat Stacey Abrams in the November general election.

Georgia: Election officials knew system was at risk before 2016 vote | McClatchy

Georgia election officials got a friendly warning in August 2016 that their electronic voting system could be easily breached. But less than a month before the November election, a state cybersecurity official fretted that “critical vulnerabilities” persisted, internal emails show. The emails, obtained through a voting security group’s open records request, offer a glimpse into a Georgia election security team that appeared to be outmatched even as evidence grew that Russian operatives were seeking to penetrate state and county election systems across the country. “I am sure that you are aware that these are opportunities for malicious users to gather account credentials,” William Moore, a cybersecurity official on a Kennesaw State University team tasked with running Georgia’s election system, wrote to a colleague in October. Officials at Kennesaw’s Center for Election Systems were struggling to respond to the report of a cyber watchdog who nosed around the system to test its defenses two months earlier and wound up gaining access to a colossal, 15-gigabyte store of confidential material, including voter data and passwords to the system.

Georgia: Trump, Election Hacking, and the Georgia Governor’s Race | The New Yorker

Last week, when Donald Trump endorsed Brian Kemp over Casey Cagle in Georgia’s Republican-gubernatorial-primary runoff election—which takes place on Tuesday—it looked like the President was simply choosing the candidate who was running as the self-proclaimed “politically incorrect conservative.” But, in fact, there is very little political distance between Kemp, Georgia’s secretary of state, and Cagle, the lieutenant governor: both are avowed right-wing Christians who extol the blessed trinity of school choice, the elimination of abortion rights, and the primacy of the Second Amendment, and both are vocal supporters of Trump. They are so closely aligned politically that the New York Times called the President’s endorsement “unexpected.” And, though it’s possible that Trump split the difference by focussing on the candidates’ most significant policy disagreement—Kemp is a vociferous critic of the Affordable Care Act, and Cagle wants to expand Medicaid in Georgia—he also happened to endorse a candidate whose views on election hacking and Russian meddling most reflect his own.

Georgia: A closer look: Election system security in Georgia | WSAV

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: Was Georgia’s Election System Hacked in 2016? | Politico

The indictment last week of 12 Russian military officers is focusing new attention on election servers in Georgia that are currently embroiled in a lawsuit between election integrity activists and the secretary of state. The activists, intent on proving that the state’s paperless voting machines are not secure and should be replaced, want to examine two state election servers to look for evidence that Russian hackers or others might have compromised them to subvert elections. But the state has been fighting them for more than a year, citing sovereign immunity from lawsuits and also insisting to the news media that Georgia was never targeted by Russian hackers. For the past year it seemed the latter might be true.

Georgia: State seeks federal grant to upgrade election system | Atlanta Journal Constitution

Georgia election officials are taking steps to secure a $10.3 million federal grant to upgrade the state’s voting system. Georgia Elections Director Chris Harvey sent a letter to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission on Tuesday requesting the grant to “improve the administration of elections for federal office, including to enhance election technology and make election security improvements.” The request comes after an announcement this spring from the independent federal agency that it planned to award Georgia the grant. The grant calls for $515,000 in matching funds from the state. Georgia’s total budget for administering elections in fiscal 2019 is about $5.8 million.

Georgia: Federal judges rule Georgia can use redrawn lines amid redistricting challenge | Associated Press

Georgia’s gerrymandering issues were recently examined by a federal court. The panel of judges ruled Georgia can continue using current district lines pending the outcome of a lawsuit alleging racial gerrymandering in two state House districts. The federal lawsuit says the Republican-led legislature unconstitutionally drew the metro Atlanta districts in 2015 to increase the percentage of white voters and decrease the percentage of black voters. The majority opinion issued in June by a three-judge panel calls the evidence raised in the lawsuit “compelling” but says it falls short of documenting intent to depress black voter strength. For that reason, the opinion says, it’s not appropriate to issue a preliminary injunction to keep the redrawn boundaries from being used while the lawsuit is pending.

Georgia: Election officials admit misplacing voters in Georgia House race | Atlanta Journal Constitution

Something went very wrong when dozens, maybe even hundreds, of voters received the wrong ballots in a tight primary election in North Georgia. They lived in one state House district but voted in another. Now, the election that seemed to unseat an incumbent representative might be thrown out. State Rep. Dan Gasaway, who lost the May 22 primary by just 67 votes to Chris Erwin, is asking a judge to order a new election. Election officials in Habersham County have acknowledged the errors, sending letters to voters saying “your address was found to have been placed in the wrong House district.”

Georgia: Gerrymandering cases unresolved after Supreme Court ruling | Atlanta Journal Constitution

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to decide Monday whether it’s constitutional for states to create electoral maps that give an advantage to one political party over another, preserving district boundaries in Georgia and across the nation. The court’s decision leaves in place partisan gerrymandering — the practice of state legislators drawing districts to help ensure the election of Republicans or Democrats. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled against Wisconsin Democrats, saying they failed to prove they had a right to sue statewide rather than challenging individual legislative districts. The court also decided against Maryland Republicans who had sought a preliminary injunction in a case involving a congressional district. Separate lawsuits contesting Georgia’s districts are still pending.

Georgia: Panel Looks To Phase Out State’s 16-Year-Old Voting Machines | WABE

Georgia needs new voting technology. That was the basis, at least in part, for a meeting at a Cobb County library Wednesday of state lawmakers, local election officials, a cybersecurity expert and political party representatives. They’re part of the Secure, Accessible and Fair Elections (SAFE) Commission appointed by Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp. It’s tasked with looking at how best to phase out Georgia’s current voting machines first introduced in 2002. “I think the time is late,” said Democratic state Sen. Lester Jackson, who sits on the commission. “But I think this is absolutely necessary, that we have a valid voting process for 2020. One of the most important elections of all time.”

Georgia: Officials and voters debate a new voting system for Georgia | Atlanta Journal Constitution

An effort to trash Georgia’s electronic voting machines got underway Wednesday amid disagreements over how to make the state’s elections secure and accurate. The first meeting of a group that will recommend a replacement voting system showed divides over whether Georgia should use pen-and-paper ballots or touchscreen machines to print ballots. Brought together by Secretary of State Brian Kemp, the Secure, Accessible & Fair Elections (SAFE) Commission will review options for the state’s next voting system and then make a recommendation to the General Assembly before next year’s legislative session. A new voting system could be in place in time for the 2020 presidential election.

Georgia: Decision allows Georgia to remove inactive voters from the rolls | McClatchy

A federal lawsuit challenging Georgia’s system of removing inactive voters from the registration rolls was formally withdrawn on Tuesday after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Ohio’s similar voter “purge” policy did not violate federal law. In a 5-4 decision, the high court held that Ohio is not violating the National Voter Registration Act by sending address-confirmation notices to registered voters when they fail to vote in a federal election — and then eliminating their names from the rolls if they don’t respond and fail to vote in the next two federal elections over a four-year period. The decision reversed a lower court ruling that found Ohio’s policy violated the voter-registration law by using non-voting to trigger the confirmation notices.

Georgia: Secretary of State moves to review voting machines | Associated Press

Georgia’s Secretary of State, now running for governor, is pushing to replace the state’s voting machines after years of declaring the current system safe. Brian Kemp established the Secure, Accessible and Fair Elections Commission in April to study a replacement for Georgia’s current electronic touchscreen system, which does not create an auditable paper record, after efforts to get replacements installed in time for this year’s elections failed. The group will meet for the first time June 13, and will review options including touchscreens that print paper ballots, and ballots marked by hand with a pen.

Georgia: Lawsuit seeks to stop electronic voting | Atlanta Journal Constitution

Before this November’s election, a federal judge will have to decide whether Georgia’s electronic voting machines are too hackable to be used any longer. A lawsuit pending in federal court is trying to force the state government to immediately abandon its 16-year-old touchscreen machines and instead rely on paper ballots. The plaintiffs, a group of election integrity activists and voters, say the courts need to step in to safeguard democracy in Georgia. Legislation to replace the state’s electronic voting machines failed to pass at the Georgia Capitol this year, and tech experts have repeatedly shown how malware could change election results. But Georgia election officials say the state’s digital voting system is safe and accurate. Secretary of State Brian Kemp recently recertified the machines after tests showed they correctly reported election results.

Georgia: Georgia is voting on insecure machines in today’s primary. This group is suing | The Washington Post

When Georgia voters head to the polls for the state’s primary today, they’ll cast their ballots on aging electronic voting machines that government officials and security experts agree are easy to hack. But if a long-shot federal lawsuit succeeds, they could vote in a much more secure way come November: On paper. As the intelligence community warns against a repeat of the kind of digital interference we saw in the 2016 elections, a nonpartisan advocacy organization and a group of Georgia voters are asking a judge to compel the state to abandon its electronic voting machines in favor of paper ballots before the midterm elections. The electronic machines produce no paper vote record, making them virtually impossible to audit. The plaintiffs want the state instead to switch to a hand-marked paper ballot system, which experts widely regard as safer because the results can be easily verified.

Georgia: Judge grants request for docs linked to Atlanta mayoral vote probe | Atlanta Journal Constitution

A Fulton County judge ordered local elections officials to make available documents linked to a state investigation into potential irregularities of the December runoff that yielded a narrow victory for Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. Superior Court Judge Craig Schwall issued an order this week that county officials should grant Georgia Secretary of State’s Office investigators “immediate access” to ballots, recaps, tally sheets, voter applications and other documents related to the Dec. 5 contest. A spokeswoman for Secretary of State Brian Kemp, a Republican candidate for governor who oversees Georgia elections, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Channel 2 Action News last week that investigators requested records to conduct a forensic review of the contest. 

Georgia: Governor vetoes cyber bill that would criminalize “unauthorized access” | Ars Technica

A bill passed by Georgia’s legislature that would have criminalized unauthorized access of computer systems and allowed companies to “hack back” in defense against breaches was vetoed on May 8 by Georgia Governor Nathan Deal. The veto came after many weeks of opposition from information security firms and professionals, as well as major technology companies—including Google and Microsoft executives, who expressed concern that the bill would actually make it more difficult to secure computer systems. Given that Georgia is the home of Fort Gordon, an Army base that serves as home to units of the Army’s Cyber Command and to parts of the National Security Agency, and that Georgia has become home to an increasing number of cybersecurity firms as a result both of the Army/NSA presence and research at Georgia’s universities, Deal realized after feedback from the industry that the bill could have resulted in inadvertent damage.