| Other attendees offered similar testimony to the committee, which released its final report on the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in late December. SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Coffee Bluff Road is closed to all traffic south of Vernon River Drive due to downed power lines across the road, according to Savannah police. CountyOffice.org does not provide consumer reports and is not a consumer reporting agency as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). U.S. Congress | Many of the details of the Coffee County visit were included in emails and texts that surfaced in civil litigation brought by voting rights activists against Georgias secretary of state; news of the breach was reported earlier by The Washington Post. On Jan. 7, 2021, a small group working on behalf of Mr. Trump traveled to rural Coffee County, Ga., some 200 miles southeast of Atlanta, and gained access to sensitive election data; subsequent visits by pro-Trump figures were captured on video surveillance cameras. And lawmakers in what remains of the Republican party have made it clear that they will bend or disregard any rule that gets in their way. } New York trial could confer new title on Donald Trump: rapist, Four-time loser Trump may not be nominee for 2024, Republican insists, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. The CISA advisory notes that exploitation of these vulnerabilities would require physical access to devices and election management servers, and warns that jurisdictions can prevent and/or detect the exploitation of these vulnerabilities by creating rules that that limit unauthorized access or manipulation of voting systems.. I am your justice. Trump allies were invited to inspect the county's voting system. 2023 County Office. State and local courts | Sure, the newly enacted Electoral Count Reform Act (amending the Electoral Count Act of 1887) filled some of the legal holes, creating a new threshold for members to object to a slate of electors (one-fifth of the members of both the House and the Senate), clarifying that the role of the vice-president is solely ministerial and requiring that Congress defer to slates of electors as determined by the states. In several instances since 2020, machines have been taken out of service after their chain of custody was interrupted. }); Testimony Suggests Trump Was at Meeting About Latham, a retired economics teacher, has since quit her role as local GOP chair and is currently preparing to sell her home and leave Georgia for Texas. Some of those involved with the Coffee County effort came to regret it. You could not have snuck anybody in here. A number of Trump aides and allies have recounted a lengthy and acrimonious meeting in the Oval Office on Dec. 18, 2020, which one member of the House Jan. 6 committee would later call the craziest meeting of the Trump presidency. During the meeting, then-President Trump presided as his advisers argued about whether they should seek to have federal agents seize voting machines to analyze them for fraud. Willis filed the motion in an effort to remove attorney Kimberly Bourroughs Debrow, who was representing 10 of the fake Trump electors. Testimony to the Jan. 6 committee from one aide who attended the meeting, Derek Lyons, a former White House staff secretary and counselor, was highlighted on Friday in a letter to the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation from Free Speech for People, a liberal nonprofit legal advocacy group. @media only screen and (max-width: 500px) { color: white; chevron.addClass('fa-chevron-up'); States must act. He found an audience with Marilyn Marks, whose voting rights group, Coalition for Good Governance, appeared to be a friendly audience. A Republican county official in Georgia and operatives working with an attorney for former President Donald Trump spent hours inside a restricted area of the Coffee County elections office that day. Among those involved in the Oval Office discussion were two prominent pro-Trump conspiracy theorists: Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser, and Sidney Powell, a lawyer who spread numerous falsehoods after the 2020 election and who also discussed Mr. Giulianis comments in her testimony. ADDRESS. Federal courts | 2 MLK Jr. Drive Suite 802 Floyd West Tower Atlanta, Georgia 30334. I dont know how they did that, she said. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Georgia State Election Board are currently conducting an investigation into the breach. And they scanned all the equipment, imaged all the hard drives, and scanned every single ballot. This means that, for offices within our coverage scope, a person's sample ballot results should include every election that will appear on their actual ballot. President Donald J. Trump departed a campaign rally in support of Georgias Republican senators in 2020. The Trump allies who traveled to Coffee County copied elections software used across the state and uploaded it on the internet, creating the potential for future election manipulation, according to David Cross, a lawyer involved in civil litigation over election security in Georgia filed by the Coalition for Good Governance. width: 300px; Maggio and his firm, SullivanStrickler, played a role in perpetuating the myth of a Trump victory in 2020 as hired expert witnesses supporting a lawsuit against Antrim County, Michigananother locality that was mired in bogus allegations of vote tamperingand the text messages show that the team headed to rural Georgia also included Jeffrey Lenberg, a man heralded by rightwing media as a systems vulnerability expert who also reviewed the voting machines in Antrim County. She has reported on everything from Hurricane Irma to the Milwaukee Bucks winning the NBA championship. Coffee County attorneys in the hearing disputed that leaving it unlocked violated security regulations. Hampton said she followed election board guidance in her handling of time sheets. Georgia runoff election: Sen. Raphael G. Warnock (D) won re-election in the Georgia Senate runoff, defeating Republican challenger Herschel Walker and giving Democrats a 51st seat in the Senate for the 118th Congress. Mr. Trump won nearly 70 percent of Coffee County, which is home to just 43,000 people. The testimony, delivered to the House Jan. 6 committee, was highlighted on Friday in a letter to federal officials from a liberal-leaning legal advocacy group. Similar breaches coordinated by Trump allies played out in several swing states. DOUGLAS, Ga. (WALB) - Coffee County now has a new elections Third party advertisements support hosting, listing verification, updates, and site maintenance. } How a Coffee County GOP Chair Coordinated a Voting The report supports past warnings about the software made by University of Michigan cybersecurity researcher J. Alex Halderman, who first spotted those weaknesses in a report that remains sealed by the federal judge. What the results mean for 2024: A Republican Party red wave seems to be a ripple after Republicans fell short in the Senate and narrowly won control in the House. Coffee They can accidentally install malware, accidentally cause all kinds of havoc, said Harri Hursti, a Finnish computer programmer with extensive experience analyzing election systems. The board of elections forced Hampton and her assistant to resign on Feb. 25, 2021. Cathy Latham, who also played a key role in the copying of election data in Coffee County, filed the motion Friday, Mistrial declared on murder charge for man accused of killing Tori Lang; guilty on three other counts, Johns Creek firefighters battle house fire, only structure remains, Weekly weather update April 28 | Forecast in metro Atlanta. Finally, it should not contain errors such as misspelled names, inaccurate incumbency labels, or incorrect political party affiliations. A Trump supporter protested election results at the Georgia State Capitol in 2020. Pfft. The Douglas Elections Department, also known as the Board of Registrars, manages poll locations, certifies election results, and promotes fair and legal elections. Marilyn Marks, executive director of the Coalition for Good Governance, told The Post that the recording captures part of a March 2021 telephone conversation she had with Hall. Please consider making a gift today to support this vital public service. Coffee County Popularity:#21 of 159 Boards Of Elections in Georgia#168 in Boards Of Elections. Address, Phone Number, and Fax Number for Coffee County Board of Elections, a Board Of Elections, at West Ashley Street, Douglas GA. View map of Coffee County Board of Elections, and get driving directions from your location. Invesitigation in Coffee County continues. (Notably, all three branches of the federal government have described the January 6 attack on the US Capitol as an insurrection.). Atlanta, GA 30318 I appreciate you calling, but Im not going to talk about that, he told The Daily Beast by phone on Thursday evening. Surveillance footage shows Latham escorting operatives working with former Trump attorney Sidney Powell through the front door of the county's election office. Plaintiffs played the nearly three-minute recording during depositions in February and March of two high-ranking deputies to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R). They said state officials have not found evidence of a security breach. Coffee County GA Election Officials Demonstrate Voting SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Coffee Bluff Road is closed to all traffic south of Vernon River Drive due to downed power lines across the road, according to Savannah police. display: none; By Danny Hakim,Neil Vigdor and Richard Fausset. The most obvious question in American politics today should be: why is the guy who committed treason just over two years ago allowed to run for president? Now that Halls mission was unraveling in the public eye, he reached out to an election rights activist to recount his experience in Douglas. Monday on Political Rewind: With less than 24 hours before polls open one last time, Herschel Walker and Raphael Warnock are making their final appeals to Georgians though nearly 2 million have already voted. Fani T. Willis, the district attorney in Fulton County, Ga., is trying to clarify Mr. Trumps role in a number of efforts to overturn his November 2020 election loss in Georgia including the plan to gain access to voting machine data and software and determine whether to recommend indictments for Mr. Trump or any of his allies for violating state laws. text-align: center; Additional local ballot measures may also be included. Information found on CountyOffice.org is strictly for informational purposes and does not construe legal, financial or medical advice. How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. The obvious worry is that these teams might find vulnerabilities and share them with hackers who can actually exploit them. Coffee County In Georgia, the county elections director and a member of the board of Neither Chaney nor Riddlehoover returned calls since The Daily Beast reached out to them last week. The next day, Chaney asked her to switch to Signal, the encrypted messaging app, according to the messages. One such case has already led to criminal charges. Click here to contact our editorial staff, and click here to report an error. .widget-toggle-tabs li.panel > a:after {font-family: 'Glyphicons Halflings';content: '\e113';float: right;color: grey}.widget-toggle-tabs li.panel > a.collapsed:after {content: '\e080'} Trump operatives considered using breached voting data }. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. } (modern). } Elections Board after forced resignations, Teens arrested after 11 injured in South Carolina park shooting, Former South Georgia State College president passes away. Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2018 ACS 5-Year Estimates. Incumbent Katherine Paulk ran in the Republican primary for Coffee County Solicitor General on May 24, 2022. Coffee County } You dont say anything. This comes two months after the board was unable to certify their recount results in the 2020 Presidential Election. Your support makes this possible. The board says the two did this to avoid being fired. Last summer, the secretary of states office seized and replaced the computer server in question. This month, Michigans attorney general, Dana Nessel, a Democrat, sought the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate data breaches there. Surveillance video shows Latham opening the door for people entering Go for it. So, they went in there and imaged every hard drive of every piece of equipment. Voting systems are considered by the federal government to be critical infrastructure, vital to national security, and access to their software and other components is tightly regulated. background: grey; Attorneys for Raffensperger told the court last month that the secretary of states office launched the investigation as soon as it became aware of the recorded phone call. Voting Rights Groups File Emergency Motion to Lift RELATED:Trump moves to block Georgia election investigation from proceeding, remove Fulton County DA from possible cases. Click the links below to What if he gets them to prevent people likely to vote for Joe Biden from voting at all? Though Coffee County is well outside of her jurisdiction, Ms. Willis is seeking to build a broad conspiracy and racketeering case that encompasses multifaceted efforts by Trump allies to disrupt and overturn the lawful election of Joseph R. Biden Jr. On Aug. 16, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation also confirmed that it was working with the Georgia secretary of states office on an investigation into the Coffee County data breach, court records show. Suspected or attempted breaches have spurred law enforcement investigations in Colorado, Michigan and Ohio. In an email county lawyers forwarded to The Post, Chaney wrote that he does not know Hall and was not present when anyone illegally accessed the server or the room in which it is contained. Responding later to inquiries about the text messages, he wrote, I have no personal recollection of what youre asking.. Latham also played a key role in the alleged breaching and copying of Voting experts said that, whether they accessed sensitive areas or not, Hamptons actions underscore a growing risk to election security. In Michigan, state police are investigating an alleged breach of voting equipment after the 2020 election in Roscommon County. Plus, the future of access to the abortion drug mifepristone is up in the air. The operation continued for hours. Thursday on Political Rewind: Yesterday, a federal appeals court allowed Georgia House Bill 481 to take effect immediately, restricting abortion access after around six weeks with few exceptions. border-radius: 6px; What if, despite all of this, Biden still wins the election but Trump gets more than 20% of Republican senators and House members to object to slates of electors pledged to Biden, and pushes the election into the House where Trump has a majority of votes? The district attorney in Atlanta is seeking to build a broad conspiracy case that encompasses multifaceted efforts by Trump allies to disrupt and overturn the 2020 election. letter-spacing: 1.24px; Even more coincidentally, Coffee County has deleted all emails of their election officials from that period, and improperly gave Secretary Raffenspergers office all of their 2020 electronic election records, wiping the county clean of evidence of what occurred. Donald Trump eats pizza after speaking in Fort Myers, Florida, on Friday. The very next day, he hired Riddlehoover to work at his used car dealership, Chaney Motors, Hampton and Latham both told The Daily Beast. As Hall would recall on his call with Marks, I went down there. Latham surmised that her discussions may have reached national GOP leadership, which could explain why the Trump administration named Coffee County in a draft executive order dated Dec. 16, 2020, that would have authorized the nations defense secretary to seize, collect, retain and analyze election equipment. Logan said in a podcast interview last year that after the 2020 election, he spent time in Georgia trying to get access to Dominion machines to investigate the election results. Georgia Election Officials Launch Inquiry Into Coffee $980,000 clubhouse for Putney Park set for a vote. Anyone can read what you share. DOUGLAS, Ga. (WALB) - Two Coffee County employees resigned from the countys elections office. Probe of Coffee Countys 2020 election conduct revives The group urged the Justice Department and the F.B.I. Despite the investigations timing, the board said both employees resigned for falsifying timesheets. Select an upcoming election date, if there is more than one coming up in your area. }); You dont swap out a county election management systemparticularly where there's a claim someone had unauthorized access to thiswithout any documentation, he told The Daily Beast. You can unsubscribe at any time and we will never share your information. She said in interviews that she hoped the Georgia businessman who visited later, Scott Hall, and others who accompanied him could help identify vulnerabilities and prove that this election was not done true and correct.. Latham, reached at her home, sat down and spoke to The Daily Beast on her front porch for nearly an hour but professed ignorance about any details of the teams visit. Voting Rights Groups File Emergency Motion to Lift The former supervisor resigned in lieu of termination.. Click here to contact our editorial staff, and click here to report an error. In the days after Bidens victory, officials in Coffee County about 200 miles southeast of Atlanta voiced suspicions of fraud, elections board meeting minutes show. In many cases, the groundwork has been laid. Hampton acknowledged to investigators and to The Post that the door was often unlocked. Georgia #SPDTraffic ROAD CLOSURE: Coffee Bluff Road is closed to all traffic south of Vernon River Drive due to downed power lines $("div.vis_widget_title").each(function(index) { Election information in Georgia: Nov. 8, 2022, election. Remember? } This Jan. 7, 2021, image taken from Coffee County, Ga., security video, appears to show Cathy Latham (center, long turquoise top), introducing members of a computer forensic team to local election officials. chevron.removeClass('fa-chevron-up'); Hampton, then known as Misty Martin, said she sat with Hall and Chaney in a conference room after the outside team arrived to investigate.