GEORGIA — Princeton University researcher Max Springer used a publicly available AI assistant to reverse the shuffling of electronic ballot records from Georgia’s May primary. The demonstration showed that voters can be matched to their ballots using publicly available data.

A flaw in Georgia's voting equipment can allow voters to be matched to their ballots after they have been cast. The software flaw allows cast-vote records and electronic ballot images to be put back in the order they were cast. Researchers discovered the software flaw in 2022.

Springer was not involved in the original research that exposed the flaw. He provided the AI assistant with the early voting list and cast-vote record file obtained through a public records request. The AI assistant created buckets of ballots and potential voters. In many instances, the process made it possible to match voters to their ballots.

Springer obtained public audit logs for ballot scanners and precinct check-in records to resolve remaining ambiguities. He was able to match most ballots to specific voters using additional records. Springer said "AI coding tools are essentially supercharging laymen people to exploit vulnerabilities."

Dominion Voting Systems made the voting equipment used in Georgia. The company has been sold and renamed Liberty Vote. Georgia is the only place where the Dominion/Liberty Vote system is used statewide. Many jurisdictions using the same voting equipment have applied a software update to fix the flaw.

Georgia voters make selections on touchscreen voting machines that print paper ballots. Voters insert paper ballots into scanners to tally votes. Cast-vote records detail the votes from each ballot. Electronic ballot images created by the scanners are randomized.

Ballot secrecy is a fundamental right under the Georgia Constitution. Georgia state law requires voting machines to permit voting in absolute secrecy so that no person can see or know any other elector’s votes.

Gabriel Sterling is the special projects manager in the Georgia secretary of state’s office. Sterling stated it would likely be cheaper for campaigns to increase outreach to voters who fit a certain profile than to try to identify voters using the flaw. He also stated it would be easier to use mail ballots if vote-buying or coercion was the goal. Sterling said the office is working with a vendor to scramble the original order of ballot images and cast-vote records before they are made public.

The Georgia secretary of state’s office sent guidance to county election officials instructing them to refer open records requests for certain records to the secretary of state’s office. The office will release records with problematic information blacked out. It will also decline to release other information and documents.

Salleigh Grubbs is a member of the Georgia State Election Board. She proposed a rule during the board’s August meeting that would have required the secretary of state’s office to apply the software update recommended by the manufacturer. Grubbs said each voter has one vote, and no one is entitled to know how it was cast.

"That privacy protects more than the individual voter. It protects the integrity of the entire election."

The Georgia State Election Board rejected Grubbs' proposal. Some board members said they did not believe they had the authority to order the secretary of state to act. Others raised concerns about the short timeline before the November midterms.

Sara Tindall Ghazal is a member of the Georgia State Election Board who voted against Grubbs' proposal. Ghazal stated it is a felony to reveal how someone voted. Ghazal said she hates the fact that it’s even physically possible, but there are very, very severe penalties if somebody were to actually do this.

Why It Matters

The ability to match voters to their ballots challenges the principle of ballot secrecy protected by the Georgia Constitution and state law. This privacy protection extends beyond individual voters to safeguard the integrity of the entire election process. The use of AI tools lowers the technical barrier for exploiting such vulnerabilities, making the issue accessible to non-experts.

Georgia remains the only state using the Dominion/Liberty Vote system statewide, meaning the flaw affects all voters in the jurisdiction. While officials point to legal penalties and alternative methods of coercion as mitigating factors, the technical possibility persists. The rejection of a mandatory software update by the State Election Board leaves the responsibility for remediation with the secretary of state’s office ahead of the November midterms.

What's New

The official record states that Georgia changed its publication process on 28 July, requiring counties to direct ballot-image requests to a state repository that replaces the original record ID in each filename. Constitution of Georgia is a governing document of the U.S. state of Georgia.