Fresh Loaf

On Monday, the Georgia Supreme Court will hear oral arguments over whether touch-screen voting — those controversial courtesy of Diebold that were ushered in after the 2000 presidential election clusterfuck — should be used in the state.

Early voting in downtown Atlanta, October, 2008,

The case stems from a 2006 challenge brought by Garland Favorito, who says the machines don’t produce a recorded ballot — you know, with results — and are open to tampering. (You can read about the plaintiffs’ concerns at Voter GA.)

After the jump, the case summary from the state Supreme Court communications office:

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The AJC adds some details to Wednesday’s Fresh Loaf post about voters who’ve been purged from registration lists.

The state regularly removes the names of voters who have died, committed felonies or relocated. But critics say qualified voters like Coxwell, who temporarily moved to another Georgia county, sometimes get expelled in the process.

Just days remain before Monday’s deadline to register to vote and be eligible to vote in the presidential election — or re-register, if necessary. Watchdog groups worry some Georgians might arrive at their precincts only to find their votes will not count if they have been removed from the rolls.

State officials won’t say how many names have been purged from the voter rolls in the past year. Purging is a routine process mandated by law meant to ensure registrars’ records are up to date, thereby reducing the likelihood of ineligible voters casting ballots.

But Helen Butler, executive director of Coalition for the People’s Agenda, has voiced concerns about problems that purging creates. Last year, after 274,000 names were removed from the rolls, Butler criticized elections officials for not doing enough to notify affected voters.

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A security consultant and former policy adviser to Sen. John McCain is investigating allegations of voting-machine tampering in Georgia’s 2002 elections, according to Raw Story.

Stephen Spoonamore says he was given a computer patch from a whistleblower who worked in former Secretary of State Cathy Cox’s office. The whistleblower alleges that prior to the November 2002 elections, the CEO of Diebold personally installed the patch on his company’s voting machines in DeKalb and Fulton counties.

Incumbent Democratic Sen. Max Cleland was beaten by Republican Saxby Chambliss in the 2002 race, and Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes was upset by Republican Sonny Perdue.

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