Judge says electronic voting stays, but …
‘While Plaintiff’s motions for preliminary injunction are DENIED, the Court advises the Defendants that further delay is not tolerable in their confronting and tackling the challenges before the State’s election balloting system.’ U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg
U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg ruled Monday, Sept. 17, that Georgia’s electronic voting system will remain in place for this year’s elections.
Attorneys representing a number of voting rights and watchdog groups brought a suit against the state claiming that voting machines can be hacked through their memory cards even though they are not connected to the web and that paper ballots would be a better alternative.
Totenberg said her decision was a “catch-22.” She said the state has been aware of problems with the security of its voting system for some time and has dragged its feet in addressing the issues but that the aggrieved groups “did not bring their preliminary injunction motions in a sufficient time span to allow for thoughtful, though expedited, remedial relief, despite the important, substantive content” of their claims.
“While Plaintiffs have shown the threat of real harms to the constitutional interests,” Totenberg wrote, “the eleventh-hour timing of their motions and an instant grant of the paper ballot relief requested could just as readily jeopardize the upcoming elections, voter turnout, and orderly administration of the election.”
Totenberg chided the state in her conclusion: “While Plaintiff’s motions for preliminary injunction are DENIED, the Court advises the Defendants that further delay is not tolerable in their confronting and tackling the challenges before the State’s election balloting system.”
Defendants and state election officials, said Totenberg, had “buried their heads in the sand.”
“A wound or reasonably threatened wound,” the judge continued in her conclusion, “to the integrity of the 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.”
Totenberg wrapped up her conclusion by reminding the state that, “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.”
To read Totenberg’s full decision, which includes an explanation of how the current voting system works and what the specific problems are, visit https://drive.google.com/file/d/1x yfbka7k1dt24xdlirifexmdhag4j cwk/view.