Georgia politicians and election officials have vouched for the security and accuracy of the state’s voting machines since their introduction back in 2002, but could recent security breaches have the Peach State heading back to paper ballots?
Maybe so if advocates from the Verified Voting organization get their way.
Following a hack of the Kennesaw State Center for Election Systems which houses, maintains, and tests the state’s voting machines, in which some 7.5 million voters may have had their records stolen, many are wondering if voting machines are as safe as the experts claim.
KSU’s Center for Election Systems is not directly connected to the Secretary of State’s own records, but considering the SoS accidentally gave away over 6 million Georgia voting records back in 2015 Georgians have reason to be wary.
Verified Voting, “a non-partisan non-profit organization that advocates for legislation and regulation that promotes accuracy, transparency and verifiability of elections,” called this week for Georgia to switch to paper ballots until its issues are resolved.
Barbara Simons, chairwoman of the nonpartisan organization’s board, argued that at least for April 18th 6th district election the state should use paper balloting. “Under the circumstances, the only prudent thing to do is make sure voting is done in a secure fashion,” she said. “This should not be a partisan issue. Republicans and Democrats both care about secure elections.”
For many switching back to paper ballots in this age of smart phones and virtual reality seems like a massive step back in time. When you can’t trust the machines that accept and tally votes though, sometimes simpler is better.
