WJBF Atlanta Bureau Chief Ashley Bridges was in oral arguments as attorneys for Secretary Brian Kemp and the Georgia Secretary of State’s office fought back against a suit to immediately move to paper ballots due to the insecurity of Georgia’s election system. Federal Court proceedings do not allow recording devices, but here’s a rough log of Bridges’ “Reporter’s Notebook.” Areas that may be of particular interest, or that grew particularly heated. Attorneys referenced below for the Plaintiff’s filing the case are Cross, Macguire and Brown. \Attorneys for Kemp and the Secretary of State are former Governor Roy Barnes and his son-in-law John Salter. (A political twist that surprised many when Democrat Barnes took the case, instead of Georgia’s own attorney general) Totenberg is the judge.
Plaintiffs: Present a just-released National Academy of Sciences report claiming, “Every effort should be made to use human-readable paper ballots in the 2018 election.”
Salter for Secretary of State: Claimed Kemp believes that the election can be “safely and accurately” conducted and Plaintiffs want judge to “rule to make this elephant have wings and fly”
Totenberg: “The reality is times change and we’re in a rapidly changing time”
Plaintiffs: David Cross: “Georgia is frozen in time” have a right not “just to the case, but to have that ballot count”
“Difficult to claim we’re paranoid” cited Dan Coats “ongoing, pervasive effort to undermine our elections”
Kirsten Nielson stated “Democracy is in the crosshairs” Secretary of State has “literally done nothing”
Bruce Brown “It’s broken, but we’ll fix it later”; National Academy of Sciences
Salter for Secretary of State notes enormous logistical challenge: 2,365 polling places, 6.8M voters, 10% absentee, 46% yield
Dr. Alex Halderman, head of Computer Science for The University of Michigan, begins to testify:
Salter for Secretary of State begins citing cases 10+ years old triggering…
Totenberg: “Now listen, to point me to Favorito in 2008 and say there is no difference in data breeches, in evidence, is to make me work in an Alice In Wonderland World and it would be more helpful to actually grapple with the circumstances.”
Halderman: “Everything changed in 2016”
Governor Barnes tries to claim that Halderman doesn’t know what he’s talking about because he’s from Michigan, not Georgia. “The sun comes up differently in Michigan than in Georgia.”
Judge Totenberg responds, roughly: “I read that in your brief, Mr. Barnes, but couldn’t believe you would make that argument: Nuclear physics for example is nuclear physics.”
Full Article: Reporter’s Notebook: What was said in court case arguing Georgia election security.