Atlanta (July 4, 2017) – Constitution Party of Georgia (CPGa) State Chairman Ricardo Davis joined the Coalition for Good Governance and five other Georgia voters in filing a a lawsuit yesterday, alleging that numerous failures of Georgia’s electronic voting system resulted in an indeterminable outcome in the June 20 Special Election for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District. The lawsuit names Secretary of State Brian Kemp, the State Election Board, all county election officials conducting the Special Election, Kennesaw State University’s Center for Election Systems, and its director, Merle King, as defendants. The plaintiffs requested a jury trial in the case.
The plaintiffs allege that the security of Georgia’s touchscreen voting system was severely compromised, violated Georgia’s election code, and cannot be legally used to conduct elections. As a result, an accurate election result could not be determined for the June 20 election. Georgia’s election code permits voters to initiate a legal challenge (an “election contest”) when irregularities or officials’ misconduct casts doubt on the reported election outcome.
Davis noted, “having been an advocate for elections reform in Georgia since 1998, I am personally acquainted with the State of Georgia’s selective adherence to election law and regulations. In 2008, the CPGa requested a recanvassing similar to what the Coalition and its partners have done in the 6th Congressional District special election. The CPGa presented evidence of discrepancies between a county’s official results for its presidential candidate Chuck Baldwin and the results reported by the Secretary of State’s office.”
“That request was assigned for follow up by the Elections Division but nothing ever happened,” Davis commented. “My father’s generation understood that the fight for civil rights for Black citizens in the South meant not only equity in casting the ballot but also in how our elections are conducted! The problems highlighted in the lawsuit transcend partisan politics; yet I predict that the lack of integrity in Georgia’s elections systems and malfeasance of those overseeing the elections will be drowned out by partisan bickering over the hotly contested race between Handel and Ossoff.”
Marilyn Marks, Executive Director of the organizing plaintiff Coalition for Good Governance, added, “As the facts of the case are presented, Georgia voters will be appalled at the recklessness with which officials handled their votes. Secretary Kemp and all the named election officials received repeated grave warnings from cybersecurity experts concerning the likely compromise of the system and the compelling need to use paper ballots. Officials irresponsibly ignored the compelling evidence of the problems and concealed them from the public as they made false assurances about the security of the system.”
Davis was also one of a dozen Georgia voters along with computer systems experts concerned about the voting system’s vulnerability and unreliable design. On May 10, May 17, May 19, and June 2 they urgently requested Secretary Kemp and the State Election Board to immediately re-examine the voting system and sideline it for the Special Election Runoff because of known serious security concerns. Their demands and the warnings of national experts were ignored.
The suit seeks to overturn the reported results of the Special Election and to order a new election, as well as requiring Secretary Kemp to re-examine the system and prohibit its use in the upcoming November municipal elections.
A press conference is planned for Thursday morning, July 6 at the Georgia State Capitol. Details will be provided shortly.
The Coalition for Good Governance is a non-partisan, non-profit organization focused on fair and transparent elections. Formerly known as Rocky Mountain Foundation, it was the organizing plaintiff in a related lawsuit filed in Fulton County Superior Court May 25, 2017, Curling v. Kemp et al. (2017CV290630).
The Constitution Party of Georgia is an alternative political party whose principles and goals are shaped by a biblically-consistent Christian worldview. Founded in 1996 the party’s political action and policy seeks to honor God, defend the family, and restore the American republic through candidates that will promote integrity in public service, liberty through responsibility and accountability, and opportunities for prosperity.