It would be a “much less desirable approach” for Georgia’s next voting system to feature computers that mark paper ballots for voters based on their selections, according to the lone cybersecurity expert on a panel tasked with making recommendations for replacements to the state’s electronic-only machines. The co-executive director of Georgia Tech’s Institute for Information Security and Privacy, Wenke Lee, made his recommendation in a memo sent to the Secure, Accessible and Fair Elections (SAFE) Commission in October, and it was obtained by WABE this week. “The best approach,” Lee wrote, “is to require the voters to hand mark paper ballots that are scanned and tallied by cyber system but also dropped into a safe box. This is because marking each vote captures and verifies the voter’s intention in a single act.”
The commission was set up by now Republican Gov.-elect Brian Kemp when he was secretary of state, Georgia’s top election official.
Republican state Rep. Barry Fleming and interim Secretary of State Robyn Crittenden are the commission co-chairs. The panel also includes Democratic lawmakers, local election officials, voters and lawyers from the state’s major political parties.
The commission is set to meet Wednesday in Macon.
Georgia rolled out its current voting machines in 2002 and is now one of 14 states using these electronic voting machines that do not leave a paper trail that can be audited after an election.
Full Article: Hand-Marked Ballots ‘Best Approach’ For New Voting Machines, Expert On Ga. Panel Says | 90.1 FM WABE.