In a rare display of bipartisan unity, Democrats and Republicans in Georgia are joining forces to demand that the state election board abandon electronic voting machines in favor of paper ballots.
The call for change comes as concerns about election security and the potential for hacking continue to mount. Both parties have expressed alarm about the vulnerability of Dominion Voting Systems’ electronic voting machines, which have been used in the state for several years.
“It’s simply not worth the risk,” said Jeanne Dufort, chair of the Morgan County Democrat Party. “We can’t afford to have our ballots relying on a system that can be so easily manipulated.”
Dr. Rich DeMillo, founder of Georgia Tech’s School of Cybersecurity and Privacy, echoed Dufort’s concerns, pointing to a string of recent cybersecurity breaches that have highlighted the vulnerabilities of electronic voting systems.
“The series of breaches we’ve seen over the past two years is a stark reminder of the risks we face,” DeMillo said. “It’s not a matter of if, but when, we’ll see another attack on our election systems.”
The push for paper ballots comes after several counties in Georgia reported glitches with Dominion Voting Systems’ software during the 2020 presidential election. Security cameras also captured footage of Trump supporters entering the secure area of Coffee County’s election office and copying election software.
The incident has raised concerns about the potential for election interference and the need for more secure voting systems. “We believe the experts who tell us that bad actors, both foreign and domestic, are interested in overturning election results or interfering with them,” Dufort said. “And we absolutely believe they now have the tools to do that.”
