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Activists Cite Tabulation Flaw in Georgia Mail-In Ballots

Associated Press

   Faulty software or poorly calibrated vote-tabulation scanners used to
   count mailed-in ballots in this week's chaotic Georgia primary may have
   prevented thousands of votes from being counted, election officials and
   voting integrity activists said.

   The issue was identified in at least four counties, DeKalb, Morgan,
   Clarke and Cherokee, according to officials who discovered them,
   including activists who have sued the state for alleged election
   mismanagement.

   "The fact that it is in multiple counties tells me that it's probably
   systemic," said Richard DeMillo, a Georgia Tech computer scientist who
   has testified for the plaintiffs, because identical scanners and
   software were used to count all absentee ballots across the state.
   DeMillo said the only way to know for sure is through audits.

   A top Georgia voting official, voting implementation manager Gabriel
   Sterling, said Friday that he had seen no evidence yet of the issue and
   found it difficult to believe the reports were "an active description
   of what is happening on the ground."

   "These are activists who have an ax to grind," he said.

   Nearly 1.1 million Georgians voted by mail for Tuesday's primary, which
   had been delayed twice due to the coronavirus pandemic.

   In-person voting Tuesday was beset by cascading failures. Voters waited
   up to five hours to cast ballots at some polling places due to
   equipment problems, poll worker unfamiliarity with a new voting system
   and social distancing measures taken because of the virus. Many voters
   also showed up to vote in person because absentee ballots they
   requested never arrived by mail.

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