Federal Judge Rules No Paper Ballots In GA For 2018 Election

ATLANTA, GA -- A federal judge ruled Monday that Georgia election officials are not required to provide paper ballots for this fall's historic gubernatorial and midterm elections. U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg rejected plantiffs' claims in a lawsuit against Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp that the state's voting system is unreliable due to previous claims or evidence of hacking. However, Totenberg did put state officials on notice that further delays in addressing the system's security concerns "are not tolerable."

Critics of Georgia's electronic voting system, which has been in effect since 2002, is susceptible to hacking and does not provide a paper verification trail. The plaintiffs were seeking to require the state to provide paper ballots for this fall's election.

However, the court denied those requests, ruling the plantiffs had not met all of the court's standards for it to make such a ruling. However, the court said "further delay is not tolerable in their confronting and tackling the challenges before the State’s election balloting system. The state’s posture in this litigation – and some of the testimony and evidence presented – indicated that the defendants and state election officials had buried their heads in the sand.

"A wound or reasonably threatened wound to the integrity of a state’s election system carries grave consequences beyond the results in any specific election, as it pierces citizens’ confidence in the electoral system and the value of voting," the court said. "Advanced persistent threats in this data-driven world and ordinary hacking are unfortunately here to stay. Defendants will fail to address that reality if they demean as paranoia the research-based findings of national cybersecurity engineers and experts in the field of elections.

"The parties have strongly intimated that this case is headed for immediate appeal. But if the case stays with or comes back to this Court, the Court will insist on further proceedings moving on an expedited schedule. The 2020 elections are around the corner. If a new balloting system is to be launched in Georgia in an effective manner, it should address democracy’s critical need for transparent, fair, accurate, and verifiable election processes that guarantee each citizen’s fundamental right to cast an accountable vote."

Kemp and Democrat Stacey Abrams are running for governor, and Georgia is considered a bellwether state for any hope of a Democrat, blue-wave surge.

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