U.S. Senate Report States No Evidence That Any Votes Were Changed Or That Any Voting Machines Were Manipulated

Staff Report From Georgia CEO

Monday, July 29th, 2019

The Senate Intelligence Committee concluded that while they have found no evidence that any votes have been changed or that any voting machines have been manipulated, election security should remain top priority as we head into the 2020 elections. The Senate Intelligence Committee conclusion echoes the conclusion of the Department of Homeland Security that no votes were changed or machines manipulated in the 2018 elections.

"As Georgia's chief elections official, I agree that even though the Senate Intelligence Committee found no evidence that any votes were changed or voting machines manipulated, election security should remain my office's top priority," said Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. "We will continue to do everything necessary to protect our election from bad actors, both foreign and domestic."

The Georgia Secretary of State's office has already implemented many of the recommendations in the Committee report, including partnering with DHS and private cyber-security companies to provide network monitoring, cyber-hygiene scanning, and cybersecurity assessments. Many Georgia counties have also partnered with DHS to provide physical security assessments of their election offices.

The Secretary of State's office requires regular cybersecurity training for all of its employees and conducts white hat internal phishing campaigns to test compliance with training. The office is in the process of rolling out cybersecurity training to county election officials. Georgia's voter registration system requires two-factor authentication, is regularly backed up, and has a complete disaster recovery backup server in a separate location. The system also includes protections against SQL injections, DDOS attacks, and brute force attacks. Paper backup voter registration lists are provided to every precinct on Election Day. The office is also in the process of replacing the state's current voter machines with machines that print a paper ballot for an added layer of security. Those new machines will be in place by the March 24, 2020 Presidential Preference Primary.

"Georgia election officials are committed to ensuring the security of our elections," said Elections Director Chris Harvey. "I speak with county election officials on a daily basis, and I am confident that secure elections are the top priority of each of Georgia's county election officials. We regularly share information with each other and will continue to work together with federal, state, local, and private-sector partners to ensure secure elections in Georgia."