Only in recent times, in a move that has plunged Georgia into grave security problems, a new online portal created to cancel voter registrations has raised alarms over possible misuse. The office of the Secretary of State confirms several attempts have so far been made to exploit the system, among them attempts to remove Republicans like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger from the list of active registered voters.
The portal was launched on July 29 to make the process easier for voters who are relocating out of state. Since its launch, it received complaints about general vulnerabilities. An investigation by The Associated Press and The Current revealed security glitches that left sensitive voter information open, including dates of birth, the last four digits of Social Security numbers, and full driver’s license numbers-essentially information critical to canceling voter registrations, which could make the portal a target for bad actors.
Mike Hassinger, a spokesman for the Secretary of State’s Office, said the state had been monitoring closely for cancellation requests that might reveal evidence of abuse. He emphasized the system has a range of safeguards, from banner warnings to would-be users that abusing the portal could be a felony, to functions that prevent a single user from submitting numerous cancellations, to reviews from county election workers. Those controls have done little to prevent what happened in attempts to cancel Greene’s and Raffensperger’s registrations.
Critics argue it simply emboldens conspiracy theorists and other nefarious actors to threaten the voting rights of Georgians. Max Flugrath, director of communications for Fair Fight Action, accused Raffensperger of denying the problem instead of trying to fix it. The official X account for the Georgia Senate Democrats warned that with this portal, voters could be weaponized against.
To start the cancellation process, users will need a voter’s name, date of birth, and county of residence. To complete the request, the site requires the last four digits of the voter’s Social Security number or a driver’s license number in its entirety. The portal states that impersonating someone to cancel a person’s voter registration is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.
Hassinger said the Secretary of State’s Office is consulting with legal experts on whether to pursue charges against those responsible for the attempts to cancel Greene’s and Raffensperger’s registrations. He also believed that the portal was more secure than the methods it replaced, which sent sensitive information to election officials through unencrypted emails or the mail.
The unveiling of the portal comes weeks after a law was signed to provide an easier way for residents of Georgia to challenge voter registrations. Already, right-wing activists have filed challenges against the registrations of tens of thousands of voters in the state, though that’s a different process from what the portal does.
Though the security features were in place, the vulnerabilities of the portal raised a debate on the balance between convenience and security in the processes for voter registration. The Secretary of State’s Office is considering improvements for future software rollouts, including additional testing and increased budgets for such projects.