Judge won’t force Georgia to use paper ballots for midterms

ATLANTA (AP) — Voting integrity advocates had argued Georgia’s electronic voting machines are unreliable and vulnerable to hacking, but a federal judge says forcing the state to change its system to paper ballots before the midterm elections is too risky.

The advocates had sued state and county election officials over the touchscreen voting machines ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. They argued the machines are vulnerable to hacking and provide no way to confirm that votes have been recorded correctly because they don’t produce a paper trail.

U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg on Monday wrote in an order that she shared their worries, but she also cited potential problems that could arise from a last-minute change. Early voting is set to start Oct. 15 and the general election is set for Nov. 6.