Election 2026 Georgia Ballot Secrecy

There's a flaw in Georgia’s voting equipment that can allow voters to be matched to their ballots after they’ve been cast. Election security advocates are urging Georgia officials to fix the issue before the November elections. State election officials say they've taken steps to address the potential harm. But some advocates say the state isn’t going far enough. They say a fix is critical because of the rapid advance of artificial intelligence tools that can be used to exploit the flaw. Ballot secrecy is a fundamental right under the state constitution. Violations could create an opening for legal challenges.

The U.S. National Security Agency and military intelligence forces are set to guard election systems during the November midterms. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the plan on Monday. Military cybersecurity experts have been involved since election equipment was deemed "critical infrastructure" in 2017. This announcement comes after President Donald Trump dismantled the civilian agency meant to protect election infrastructure. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency last week released its own security plan for election systems. With early voting underway, some experts criticize the timing as mere theater. Trump has already signed two executive orders seeking to nationalize certain election processes.

ATLANTA (AP) — Two Republicans on Georgia's state election board Thursday criticized a propo…