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Opening statements are expected Tuesday because the trial in a long-running authorized challenge to the constitutionality of Georgia’s election system begins in federal court docket in Atlanta.
Election integrity activists argue the system is susceptible to assault and has operational points that quantity to an unconstitutional burden on residents’ elementary proper to vote and to have their votes counted precisely. State election officers insist that they’ve taken applicable protecting measures and that the system is dependable.
The case stems from a lawsuit initially filed in 2017 by election integrity activists — particular person voters and the Coalition for Good Governance, which advocates for election safety and integrity. It initially attacked the outdated, paperless voting machines used on the time however has since been amended to goal the newer machines in use statewide since 2020.
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That newer system, made by Dominion Voting Systems, consists of touchscreen voting machines that print ballots with a human-readable abstract of voters’ choices and a QR code {that a} scanner reads to depend the votes. The activists argue the present system is not any safer or dependable than the outdated system and are asking U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg to order the state to cease utilizing it.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has repeatedly defended the system and has dismissed the issues raised by the activists as unfounded. He and his legal professionals have at instances lumped the plaintiffs in this lawsuit in with supporters of former President Donald Trump who’ve pushed false allegations of election fraud after the 2020 election, together with outlandish claims in regards to the Dominion voting machines.
A touchscreen voting machine and printer are seen inside a voting sales space in Paulding, Ga.
“Georgia’s election security practices are top-tier. Casting doubt on Georgia’s elections, which these plaintiffs and deniers are doing, is really trying to cast doubt on all elections. That is dangerous and wrong,” secretary of state’s workplace spokesperson Mike Hassinger mentioned in an emailed assertion Monday. “Our office continues to beat election deniers in court, in elections, and will ultimately win this case in the end as well.”
Totenberg, who has expressed issues in regards to the state’s election system and its implementation, wrote in a footnote in an October order that the proof in this case “does not suggest that the Plaintiffs are conspiracy theorists of any variety. Indeed, some of the nation’s leading cybersecurity experts and computer scientists have provided testimony and affidavits on behalf of Plaintiffs’ case in the long course of this litigation.”
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One of these specialists, University of Michigan pc science professional J. Alex Halderman, examined a Georgia voting machine and wrote a prolonged report figuring out vulnerabilities he mentioned he discovered and detailing how they could possibly be used to change election outcomes. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, in June 2022 launched an advisory primarily based on Halderman’s findings that urged jurisdictions that use the machines to rapidly mitigate the vulnerabilities.
Dominion, which has constantly insisted its tools is correct and safe, issued a software program replace final spring that it says addresses the issues. Raffensperger has mentioned the effort and time wanted to set up that replace on each piece of voting tools means it’s not possible earlier than the 2024 election cycle.
The plaintiffs and their specialists have mentioned they’ve seen no proof that Georgia’s elections have been manipulated by unhealthy actors, however they argue current safety flaws should be addressed to stop future hurt. The want to act turned extra pressing after unauthorized folks accessed voting tools in a rural Georgia county elections workplace in January 2021 and distributed the software program and information on-line, they argue.
The plaintiffs advocate the usage of hand-marked paper ballots tallied by scanners. Totenberg already wrote in October that she can’t order the state to change to a system that makes use of hand-marked paper ballots. But she wrote that she might order “pragmatic, sound remedial policy measures,” together with eliminating the QR codes on ballots, stronger cybersecurity measures and extra sturdy audits.
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