Georgia to replace voting machines in a county after ‘unauthorized access’

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger provides a day replace on the Georgia Major Election on the election command middle in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Could 24, 2022. REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer

WASHINGTON, Sept 23 (Reuters) – Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger mentioned his workplace was changing some election tools in a south Georgia county the place former officers allegedly allowed unauthorized entry to allies of former President Donald Trump within the weeks after the 2020 election.

The step comes after video surveillance footage made public just lately confirmed outsiders accessing Espresso County voting machines and copying delicate software program and knowledge.

The Washington Submit has reported that forensics consultants working final yr for pro-Trump legal professional Sidney Powell copied just about each part of the voting system. Powell alleged voter fraud after the 2020 election, however federal and native investigations confirmed in any other case.

“To allay the fears being stoked by perennial election deniers and conspiracy theorists, we’re changing Espresso County’s election machines,” Raffensperger mentioned in an announcement on Friday, including that the probe into the previous officers who allowed the unauthorized entry would proceed.

“However the present election officers in Espresso County have to maneuver ahead with the 2022 election, and they need to have the opportunity to take action with out this distraction,” he mentioned.

Individually in Georgia, a grand jury within the Fulton County is probing efforts by Trump to overturn the previous president’s 2020 election defeat.

Trump has falsely claimed that rampant voter fraud brought on his loss in Georgia, a battleground state the place President Joe Biden’s victory helped propel him to the White Home.

The particular grand jury in Fulton County is enterprise a prison investigation into alleged wrongdoing. Trump was recorded in a Jan. 2, 2021, telephone name pressuring Raffensperger to “discover” sufficient votes to overturn his loss to Biden within the state.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing. The grand jury had additionally subpoenaed Trump allies and members of his former authorized group.

Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington
Enhancing by Alistair Bell

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