State Election Board pressures secretary of state to update voting machines

The appeal for federal intervention is a familiar move for the state board. Last year, the right-wing majority revived a fight over the 2020 election and called on the Justice Department to intervene. Months later, FBI agents seized troves of 2020 election records in Fulton County as part of a criminal investigation. Authorities cited two Republican board members in an affidavit justifying the raid.

Lana Goitia-Paz, senior Georgia campaign manager of the left-leaning All Voting is Local, called the draft resolution “another attempt by members of the State Election Board to have the federal government interfere in local election administration on their behalf.”

County election officials say it’s too late for implementing an update for the midterms.

“I don’t think that’s feasible at all at this point,” said Greene County Election Director Rebecca Anglin.

It’s the latest twist in the debate over Georgia’s voting technology. Longtime election security advocates have raised concerns, pointing to vulnerabilities identified by experts that they say could be exploited — though there’s no indication voting machines have been tampered with during an election.

State election officials have defended the system as secure and pointed to audit results as evidence of its accuracy.

False claims from Trump supporters that manipulated machines tainted the 2020 results have fed conservative distrust of the machines. The State Election Board has often been used as a platform for election skeptics to amplify doubts about Georgia elections.

The next scheduled board meeting where members could consider the resolution is Sept. 28. The board considered holding a special meeting next week but did not decide when that would be.

Asked about the resolution, Roddy indicated in a text message she is working on a revised version.

“We’re adding to it and will bring a more robust version to market soon,” she wrote on Tuesday. “Wait and see!”

Sara Tindall Ghazal, the board’s only Democrat, said it’s too late to upgrade the machines for this election.

With about a month until early voting starts, any update to the statewide system would be a tremendous undertaking, requiring technicians to install updates on tens of thousands of voting touchscreens and thousands of scanners across Georgia’s 159 counties.

“It’s a familiar pattern to attempt to force dramatic changes mere weeks before an election,” she said.

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

State election officials have previously estimated a statewide update would take months and cost $15 million.

Mike Hassinger, a secretary of state spokesperson, said the board has no authority over the office.

“We hope they put their efforts toward serious purposes as we are two months away from Election Day,” he said.

Salleigh Grubbs, a Republican board member, didn’t address the draft resolution itself but said the secretary of state has known about vulnerabilities in Georgia’s statewide voting system that could be mitigated but has “not done his job.”

State Election Board members John Fervier and Janelle King declined to comment.

The Legislature has never funded security upgrades to Georgia’s voting system, even after state officials have previously requested money to do so. Lawmakers weren’t willing to spend tens of millions on a voting system they plan to replace in the coming years.

Without an upgrade, a Princeton researcher said he recently used artificial intelligence to exploit one known weakness to identify how more than 2,200 people voted in two counties in the May primaries with a high degree of confidence.

However, there’s no indication that anyone else has tried to exploit this weakness for nefarious purposes.

State election officials have told counties to redact publicly available information used to match voters with ballots.