Computer experts urge Georgia to replace voting machines

ATLANTA — A group of computer and election security experts is urging Georgia election officials to replace the state’s touchscreen voting machines with hand-marked paper ballots ahead of the November midterm elections, citing what they say are “serious threats” posed by an apparent breach of voting equipment in one county. State Election Board Chair William Duffey responded in an email to The Associated Press that the “security of our election equipment is of paramount interest to the State Election Board as is the integrity of the election process in Georgia.” He noted that the alleged breach in Coffee County is being investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and secretary of state’s office investigators and said the FBI has been asked to assist. It is documented in emails, security camera footage and other records produced in response to subpoenas in a long-running lawsuit that argues Georgia’s voting machines are vulnerable and should be replaced by hand-marked paper ballots. At least some of the experts who signed the letter sent to the Georgia State Election Board last year sent a similar letter to California’s secretary of state ahead of a recall election for the state’s governor urging a rigorous audit of that contest.