In an unusual alliance, Georgia Democrats and Republicans are both calling for a return to hand-marked paper ballots. The move is intended to address widespread concerns about the security and accuracy of the state’s current voting system, which relies on ballot-marking devices.
Morgan County Democratic Party Chairwoman Jeanne Dufort has formally petitioned the State Election Board (SEB) to adopt the Dominion 5.5-A version voting system. This system uses hand-marked ballots tabulated by precinct and central scanners, with touchscreen units available for voters needing assistive technology.
Dufort explained, “Switching to hand-marked ballots is a critical step in ensuring our elections are secure and transparent.”
Cobb County Republican Chairwoman Salleigh Grubbs has expressed support for this proposal, citing the need for immediate action to address known security issues in the current system. “We have not had the machines updated with the security patches, it was too late to do it, Raffensperger said that. He has chosen not to do the things that needed to be done to secure the election so from that perspective, I support paper ballots,” Grubbs said.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has acknowledged these vulnerabilities but noted that necessary updates cannot be made until after the 2024 elections. The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a report in 2022 acknowledging “vulnerabilities affecting versions of the Dominion Voting Systems Democracy Suite ImageCast X, which is an in-person voting system used to allow voters to mark their ballot.” CISA continued that the vulnerabilities “present risks that should be mitigated as soon as possible,” but said the agency had “no evidence that these vulnerabilities have been exploited in any elections.”
Former Rep. John Barrow (D-GA) also supports the return to hand-marked ballots, emphasizing the importance of a tangible paper trail for verifying voter intent and certifying election results. “The inability to certify that the ballots that are counted by machine on Election Day actually reflect the choice of the voter…is sufficient to require that this Board fulfill its duty to mandate that paper ballots be used,” says Barrow’s letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Federalist.
With the legal battles of Curling v. Raffensperger still ongoing, the bipartisan call for hand-marked ballots underscores a shared commitment to enhancing the integrity and reliability of Georgia’s election process.
