FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Christy Setzer, 617-512-7572

christy@newheightscommunications.com
Thursday, June 1, 2017

JUNE 7 HEARING SET IN LAWSUIT AGAINST SEC. OF STATE

KEMP FOR UNSAFE VOTING MACHINES

Voters Seek To Halt Use of Insecure Machines, Use Paper Ballots Instead

Election Security Group Urges Early Voters to Use Absentee Ballots

Atlanta (June 1, 2017) A hearing is set for Wednesday, June 7th in the lawsuit
against three county election officials and Secretary of State Brian Kemp two weeks
before the 6th Congressional District runoff election. A complaint and Temporary
Restraining Order motion brought by Rocky Mountain Foundation and members of
Georgians for Verified Voting present the case that the states touchscreen-based voting
system is uncertified, unsafe and inaccurate and that the county officials must instead
use paper ballots in the election to have a verifiable transparent election.

In March, the FBI investigated a cyber-attack on the Center for Election Systems (CES)
at Kennesaw State University, the entity responsible for testing and programming voting
machines across Georgia. While the FBI closed its investigation and did not prosecute
anyone, experts are concerned that lax cybersecurity at CES creates a serious ongoing
risk of voting system intrusion or malfunction. During the April 18 special election, a
number of irregularities occurred approximately 150 voters ballot choices were not
recorded at all on the machines causing empty ballots to be cast. Also, Fulton Countys
voting system malfunctioned when improper memory cards were introduced into the
system, and were initially undetected.

The plaintiffs joined other diverse voices in urging Kemp to examine the states voting
system ahead of the special election. A group of 16 prominent computer scientists
expressed their grave concerns yet again to Kemp in a letter, which incorporated
documentation of serious security vulnerabilities in the states voting system
maintenance procedures.

Theres no available federal certification for Georgias voter system, although the state
has touted federal certification for years, and the system no longer meets federal
certification standards, --even the 1990 standards the state previously applied. said
Donna Curling, a plaintiff and a 6th Congressional District voter. The errors that
occurred on April 18 in Fulton County, and the hacking that happened at CES, have not
been adequately explained, which shows our system is insecure and may be
compromised. The only way to ensure we have a secure election in June is to use paper
ballots.
Secretary of State Kemp and the county election directors made an irresponsible
decision to begin early voting without first addressing the voting systems insecurities.
That means thousands of Georgians will be casting a vote on a system that experts warn
may not be secure or accurate, said Marilyn Marks, Executive Director of the Rocky
Mountain Foundation, a plaintiff in the lawsuit. Georgians who want to vote early and
ensure their ballot is counted as they intended should mail in an absentee ballot rather
than using the touchscreen machines.

The hearing will be held on June 7 at 10 a.m. in the Superior Court of Fulton County in
Atlanta. The individual plaintiffs, Curling and Donna Price, are, respectively, Legislative
Liaison and Director for Georgians for Verified Voting. The organizational plaintiff,
Rocky Mountain Foundation, is a nonpartisan nonprofit with Georgia members who
intend to vote on paper ballots in the runoff.

On May 10th, 16 Georgia voters, including the plaintiffs, submitted a letter to Secretary
Kemp. Georgia statutes require that the Secretary of State re-examine the states voting
if 10 or more electors request it, and that if the system is found to be unsafe or
inaccurate, the election must use paper ballots instead. When Kemps office
claimed, Georgias voting equipment is regularly tested by experts and local elections
officials across the state. We have complete confidence in its accuracy and security, the
voters updated their list of additional security concerns in a follow-up letter.

Voting experts suggest Georgia voters mail-in absentee paper ballots if they choose to
vote early.

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