Toronto Star
· collected 2026-09-13 · by Kate Brumback The Associated Press
Security researchers say rapid advances in artificial intelligence are making it more critical to address a flaw in Georgia’s voting equipment that can allow voters to be matched to their ballots after they have been cast.
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they → say → ballots
The system’s vulnerability has been drawing increased attention, with election security advocates criticizing state election officials for failing to fix it before the November elections.
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advocates → draw → elections
Georgia election officials say they have taken steps to address the potential harm, but some advocates say the state is not going far enough.
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state → say → harm
The vulnerability does not allow votes to be changed or cast doubt on election results, but it could let someone see how others voted.
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others → allow → results
That is important because ballot secrecy is a fundamental right under the state constitution and violations could create an opening for legal challenges.
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violations → create → challenges
While the flaw has been known for a few years, the widespread adoption of AI tools and the blistering pace of its sophistication have election security experts raising alarms.
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experts → know → alarms
This is “a bit of a wake-up call because it illustrates how much more easily vulnerabilities can be exploited now that AI can do all of the technical work for you,” said J. Alex Halderman, a voting technology specialist at the University of Michigan who was part of the team that exposed the flaw.
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that → wake → flaw
Other jurisdictions across the country use the same voting equipment made by Dominion Voting Systems, a company that has since been sold and renamed Liberty Vote.
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that → use → Systems
But many have applied a software update to fix the flaw, and some other states do not allow the public release of records that are needed to exploit it, said Mark Lindeman, policy and strategy director at Verified Voting, a nonpartisan group focused on election technology.
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Lindeman → apply → technology
Georgia, a presidential battleground with one of the nation’s most closely watched U.S. Senate races this year, is the only place where the system is used statewide.
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system → watch → races
Lindeman said that, combined with an open records law that has allowed access to key documents, creates a “perfect storm.”
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that → say → storm
“It’s really embarrassing that this is still a possibility,” Lindeman said.
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Lindeman → ’ → ?
How does voting work in Georgia?
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voting → work → Georgia
Georgia voters make their selections on touchscreen voting machines that print paper ballots voters insert into scanners to tally the votes.
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voters → make → votes
Such cast-vote records detail the votes from each ballot.
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records → cast → ballot
Those records and electronic ballot images created by the scanners are randomized.
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records → create → scanners
But the software flaw allows them to be put back in the order they were cast, according to a report by researchers who discovered it in 2022.
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who → allow → 2022
Along with other publicly available data, that information could be used to match voters to their ballots, the researchers wrote.
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researchers → use → ballots
Max Springer, a Princeton University researcher who was not involved in the original research and studies AI, said he gave a publicly available AI assistant that research.
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he → involve → research
He said it was able to reverse the shuffling of electronic ballot records from Georgia’s May primary and then tell him what other records it would need to match names to ballots.
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it → say → ballots
He then gave the AI assistant the early voting list for the counties he examined and the cast-vote record file, which could be obtained through a public records request.
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which → give → request
It was able to create “buckets of ballots and potential voters,” he wrote in a blog post.
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he → create → post
In many instances, that made it possible to match voters to their ballots.
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it → make → ballots
In cases where ambiguity remained, he wrote, he got the public audit log for the ballot scanners and precinct check-in records and was able to match most ballots to specific voters.
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he → remain → voters
“AI coding tools are essentially supercharging laymen people to exploit vulnerabilities,” Springer said in an interview.
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Springer → supercharge → interview
Why does ballot secrecy matter?
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secrecy → matter → ?
Georgia’s Constitution says elections “shall be by secret ballot” and state law requires voting machines to “permit voting in absolute secrecy so that no person can see or know any other elector’s votes.”
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person → say → votes
A lack of ballot secrecy can make it easier to buy or sell votes and increase the danger of coercion to vote a certain way by family members, political organizations, employers or government officials.
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it → make → members
Gabriel Sterling, special projects manager in the secretary of state’s office, pushed back on the concerns.
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Sterling → push → concerns
He said it would be easier to use mail ballots if vote-buying or coercion was the goal and that it likely would be cheaper for campaigns to just increase outreach to voters who fit a certain profile than try to identify voters this way.
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who → say → voters
State Election Board member Salleigh Grubbs 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 by Tuesday.
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that → propose → Tuesday
“Each (voter) has one vote, and no one is entitled to know how it was cast,” Grubbs said.
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Grubbs → have → vote
“That privacy protects more than the individual voter.
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privacy → protect → voter
It protects the integrity of the entire election.”
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It → protect → election
In a letter to the election board, an agency lawyer argued that the update has not been certified by the secretary of state, the implementation would take months and the legislature has not provided necessary funding.
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legislature → argue → funding
The board rejected Grubbs’ proposal.
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board → reject → proposal
Some members said they did not believe they had the authority to order the secretary of state to act and they raised concerns about the short timeline before the November midterms.
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they → say → midterms
Board member Sara Tindall Ghazal, who voted against the proposal, said it is “intensely frustrating” that the software update has not been applied.
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update → vote → proposal
But she pointed out that it is a felony to reveal how someone voted, which should serve as a deterrent.
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which → point → deterrent
“I hate the fact that it’s even physically possible, but there are very, very severe penalties if somebody were to actually do this,” she said.
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she → hate → this
…and 10 more, not listed.
