New online voter registration cancellation tool sparks alarm in Georgia
Update: The Associated Press reported that the new Secretary of State’s website briefly allowed access to the personal identifying information required to cancel a voter’s registration. The “glitch” , as the AP reports, “lasted less than an hour and has now been fixed.”
The Georgia Secretary of State launched a new website that allows for online cancellation of Georgia voter registration, drawing concerns from election technologists and state Democrats.
@GASenateDems said in a tweet, “This tool empowers conspiracy theorists and other bad actors to deny Georgians the right to vote.”
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said in a press release, “This is a convenient tool for any voter who wants to secure their voter registration by [canceling] their old one when they move out of state.”
Canceling a registration through the online tool requires knowing the voter’s name, birthdate, and registration county, as well as either the voter’s driver’s license number or the last four digits of their social security number.
The Secretary of State’s office confirmed to ACPC that “a letter will be sent to the address on the [voter’s] record confirming their cancellation.”
Earlier this year, Georgia Republicans passed legislation (Senate Bill 189) making it easier for interest groups to challenge existing voter registrations. The law went into effect July 1.
The day SB 189 took effect, David Sumrall, the head of the Bibb County Republican Party, challenged hundreds of voter registrations in the county. Sumrall found the voter files to challenge using EagleAI.
The Brennan Center for Justice wrote that EagleAI “appears to be no more than a system that performs data matches based on a database of public voter data amassed by a web scraper. Its own proponents describe it as ‘Excel on steroids.’”
ACPC inquired with the Secretary of State’s office whether voters would have any recourse to challenge malicious cancellations made after the voter registration deadline for upcoming elections. The Secretary of State’s office stated, “Worst case, if the voter shows up and has been canceled, the voter can vote a provisional ballot and we can pull the logs of the cancellation.”
Additionally, the office said, the website will keep track of IP addresses and “have security mechanisms in place to keep bots from cancelling registrations.”
Georgia residents can confirm the current status of their voter registration through the Georgia Secretary of State’s My Voter Page.
The voter registration deadline for the Nov. 5 general election is Oct. 7, 2024.
No paywall. No corporate sponsors. No corporate ownership.
Help keep it that way by becoming a monthly donor today.
Free news isn't cheap to make.
Author
Related Articles
Justice for Cornelius Taylor Coalition continues community care activism with The People’s Table
Organizers fed and supplied more than 100 unsheltered Atlantans just outside City Hall, the Capitol and the Department of Public Safety in a show of how easily the three could serve them.
Public Service Commission meets scathing public backlash with stipulated agreement for Georgia Power expansion
While protesters preceded Wednesday’s Public Service Commission hearing with a press conference and in-chamber disruption, the Commission announced a stipulated agreement accepting Georgia Power’s full 10,000-megawatt expansion.
Mayor promotes new Constituent Service chief who was subject of an inspector general investigation
The Office of Inspector General found that in 2022, Vanessa Manley used her position in the city for personal gain, failed to disclose outside employment and submitted a false invoice.