Judge says Georgia elections at risk but rules against paper ballots

Do Nothing Republicans

• Even though the GOP controls Georgia they still can't get their act together to require paper ballots and honest elections.

(AJC)  -  Georgia voters will continue to use touchscreens to cast their ballots this fall, perhaps for the last time.

A federal judge found a “concrete risk” that Georgia’s electronic voting system is vulnerable to tampering, but she ruled against a quick switch to paper ballots less than four weeks before early voting begins for November’s election.

U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg late Monday denied a motion from election integrity advocates who asked her to force the state’s 6.8 million registered voters to use hand-marked paper ballots instead of direct-recording electronic (DRE) voting machines.

Totenberg scolded state election officials who “had buried their heads in the sand” by failing to safeguard Georgia’s voting system. She allowed the state to continue using electronic voting machines because a rushed transition to paper ballots could frustrate voters with “bureaucratic confusion and long lines.”

Her decision ensures that Georgia’s 27,000 touchscreen machines will remain in place for the election for governor between Democrat Stacey Abrams and Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who is responsible for overseeing elections. In-person early voting starts Oct. 15, and Election Day is Nov. 6.

“The state defendants have also stood by for far too long, given the mounting tide of evidence of the inadequacy and security risks of Georgia’s DRE voting system and software,” Totenberg wrote in her 46-page order. “The court is gravely concerned about the state’s pace in responding to the serious vulnerabilities of its voting system.”

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