Sen. Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta) released the following statement, calling on the Secretary of State to address and resolve vulnerabilities in the voting process before the 2024 Election.
“I extend my appreciation to Lt. Governor Burt Jones for his call to convene Ethics Committee hearings aimed at examining vulnerabilities identified by Dr. J. Alex Halderman. These vulnerabilities have garnered validation from a minimum of 29 cybersecurity experts and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Over the course of a year, the Secretary of State’s office has been aware of these vulnerabilities, yet has taken no action to enhance the security of our elections or foster trust among our citizens in the voting process.
During the recent Senate Ethics hearing, Sen. Greg Dolezal (R-Cumming) succinctly summarized the situation, stressing, ‘the bad actors have a key to the front door, they know the nine vulnerabilities, and we are simply hoping to apprehend them before they escape through the back door.’
In a Sep. 26, 2023, Atlanta Journal-Constitution article, Secretary Raffensperger estimated the cost of implementing security enhancements to be $32.5 million. Despite requests for a meeting, an appearance before the Ethics Committee, or an indication of availability, the Secretary of State has remained unresponsive. This year alone, we possess a $5 billion surplus, and I can think of no better investment than doing everything within our means to secure our voting equipment and bolster public trust in the voting process.”
Sen. Brandon Beach serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Economic Development and Tourism. He represents the 21st Senate District which includes portions of Cherokee and Fulton Counties. He can be reached at 404.463.1378 or by email at brandon.beach@senate.ga.gov.
