Vote-counting machines are being challenged in a court case that could have implications nationwide. From a recent article on Ballot Access News by Richard Winger:

On June 7, a Georgia state trial court heard oral arguments and witnesses in a case that challenges the state’s vote-counting machines. Here is a description of the testimony of witnesses on both sides, written by Garland Favorito, who was at the hearing. The machines have no audit trail.

From Garland Favorito’s description of the testimony:

Many of the “Who’s Who” in Georgia elections and their attorneys gathered in the Fulton County Superior courtroom of Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams to determine the fate of Georgia’s unverifiable voting equipment. Elections Directors (ED) from the state and the counties of Fulton, Cobb and Dekalb were present for most or all of the hearing. Meryl King, Executive Director of the Kennesaw State University Center for Election Systems was the state’s expert.

Attorneys for the three counties, the Secretary of State and the Attorney General’s office all simultaneously defended the state and counties. Their primary legal arguments appear to be sovereign immunity and untimeliness of a GA6 election change. A decision is expected Friday. Plaintiffs called two high powered expert witnesses Dr. Ed Felten and Dr. Rich Demillo. Felton was Professor of Computer Science at Princeton University, Chief Technologist for the Federal Trade Commission and Deputy U.S. Chief Technology Officer for the President of the United States. Dr. Richard Demillo was the first Chief Technology Officer of Hewlett Packard, Dean of Computing at Georgia Tech and current Director of its Center for 21st Century Universities.

Also, for more on voting machines in general see this Miles O’Brien interview from the PBS Newshour:

“Secure Internet voting is a bit like the phrase ‘safe cigarettes,’” Ronald Rivest, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is shown saying at a panel talk on the subject. But of course, from clunky polling machines to the famous butterfly ballot of the 2000 presidential election, internet voting isn’t the only ballot technology that’s been fraught with problems. Accurate, secure voting has been a challenge throughout history.

For historical perspective, Miles spoke with political historian and curator William L. Bird from the Smithsonian Museum of American History, who provided a glimpse of various American voting systems through time and the problems they’ve encountered.

Here is a video with excerpts from that interview: