We Must Use Paper Ballots in Upcoming Elections

Elections are the lifeblood of our democracy. Our ability to freely elect our own representatives is the very heart of our self-governance. It is essential that the systems and equipment we use to cast, record and count our ballots are free of any vulnerabilities and that all Georgians can be confident that the results of our elections accurately reflect the votes cast.

J. Alex Halderman, a voting technology specialist and the Director of the University of Michigan’s Center for Computer Security, examined the voting equipment currently used by Georgia and prepared a report eight months ago stating that he found, “multiple severe security flaws”. That report was made available to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA), an agency of the Department of Homeland Security, as well as to the manufacturer of Georgia’s voting equipment.

Elections in Georgia are now imminent. In view of the report of Dr. Halderman, it is imperative that the Secretary of State and Board of Elections authorize the emergency use of paper ballots pending the review by the Secretary of State, the CISA and the manufacture of the voting equipment of Dr. Halderman’s report.

Georgians must be confident that the results of the up-coming election are completely reliable, a confidence that they cannot have in view of Dr. Halderman’s report.

Bruce Menke

Athens