Judge could order Georgia to use paper ballots this fall

[Swordsmyth]

Georgia allowed its election system to grow "way too old and archaic" and now has a deep hole to dig out of to ensure that the constitutional right to vote is protected, according to U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg.Now Totenberg is in the difficult position of having to decide whether the state, which plans to implement a new voting system statewide next year, must immediately abandon its outdated voting machines in favor of an interim solution for special and municipal elections to be held this fall.
Election integrity advocates and individual voters sued Georgia election officials in 2017 alleging that the touchscreen voting machines the state has used since 2002 are unsecure and vulnerable to hacking. They've asked Totenberg to order the state to immediately switch to hand-marked paper ballots.
But lawyers for state election officials and for Fulton County, the state's most populous county that includes most of Atlanta, argued that the state is in the process of implementing a new system, and it would be too costly, burdensome and chaotic to use an interim system for elections this fall and then switch to the new permanent system next year.
A law passed this year and signed by Gov. Brian Kemp provides specifications for a new system in which voters make their selections on electronic machines that print out a paper record that is read and tallied by scanners. State officials have said it will be in place for the 2020 presidential election.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/judge-weighs-overhaul-archaic-georgia-090236084.html

[Swordsmyth]

A federal judge on Thursday ordered Georgia to stop using its outdated voting machines after this year and to be ready with hand-marked paper ballots if its new system isn’t in place for the presidential primaries. US District Judge Amy Totenberg’s 153-page ruling Thursday is not a complete victory for either side.
A federal lawsuit filed by election integrity advocates and individual Georgia voters argues that the paperless touchscreen voting machines Georgia has used since 2002 are unsecure, vulnerable to hacking and can’t be audited. They have been seeking statewide use of hand-marked paper ballots.
A law passed this year provided specifications for a new system. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger certified a new system last week and said new machines will be in place for the state’s presidential primary election on March 24.
But the plaintiffs had asked Totenberg to order the state to immediately stop using the current system, which it plans to use for special and municipal elections this year. They also said they feared that the timeline for the implementation of the new machines is too tight, which could result in the old machines being used for 2020 elections.
Totenberg’s order made it clear that she shares that fear: She said that if the new system is not ready by March, the state cannot default to the old machines.

More at: https://nypost.com/2019/08/15/georgia-ordered-to-scrap-old-voting-machines-after-2019/