Trust in Georgia voting would improve by updating the current election code
Allow me to take this opportunity to share two observations about the administration of Georgia elections from my service on Fulton County’s Board of Registration and Elections.
I was a Republican appointee from July 2023 until my resignation in September, two months after the expiration of my term.
First, Georgia needs a modern election code. The current election code was enacted in 1981.
Forty-four years of piecemeal amendments and the manner in which the code is organized have made it harder to read than the federal tax code.
It does not provide practical, accessible guidance to the voting public or election officials — or the judiciary.
Calm hyper-partisan complaints through reform
Recently, based on an apparent misunderstanding of certain code sections, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled on July 10 that election superintendents could not investigate fraud in a precinct unless the number of persons who cast votes in an election exceeds the precinct’s total registered voters.
With low voter turnouts, this ruling provides ample opportunities to stuff ballot boxes and change election outcomes without triggering the point at which the superintendent has authority to investigate.
As a parting gift to the people of Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp should personally shepherd a modern election code through the legislative process.
A well-drafted code could help calm the hyper-partisan political environment dating back to the 2018 gubernatorial and 2020 presidential elections.
Complex process makes paper ballots more attractive
Second, electronic voting systems have two major problems.
Their workflow is too complex, inviting inevitable human error, and they do not accommodate effective public observation at critical stages of the election process.
For example, on election night, votes cast at polling places are recorded on computer memory cards about the size of a postage stamp. When polls are closed, the memory cards are retrieved from voting machines and placed in containers with a security seal. Couriers transport the memory cards, without observer escort, through rush hour traffic to the election office. In Atlanta, this process often takes well over an hour.
Once at the office, if proper procedure is followed, seals on memory card containers are verified with seals placed on containers at the polling place. Memory cards are then carried by election workers, without observer escort, into an enclosed area to upload voting information from memory cards into computers to count votes.
Observers can witness this process only by standing behind barriers some distance away. What they can see is election workers inserting memory cards into computers and tapping on keyboards.
Even when observers can see the action on computer monitors, the information is indecipherable to anyone without excellent eyesight, experience with vote counting systems, and the ability to take notes super-fast (cameras are not allowed).
Contrast this process with paper ballots that can be counted at polling places under close observation of election observers and the public.
Which would you prefer to promote public confidence in Georgia’s elections?
Michael Heekin is a retired member of the State Bar of Georgia and the Florida Bar. He is a former associate dean of the Florida State College of Law. He was appointed to the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections in 2023 for a two-year term.
