ATLANTA — The chairman of the state election board says he wants state investigators to redouble their efforts to conclude a criminal case in an election security breach in south Georgia.
The state election board chairman, former federal judge William Duffey, Jr., said he’s frustrated that months have gone by with no conclusion to an investigation into an election security breach in south Georgia.
A GBI spokeswoman said Tuesday the investigation into the case is ongoing.
Surveillance video has circulated for nearly 10 months showing officials in south Georgia’s Coffee County escorting into the county election office operatives connected with then-president Donald Trump. It happened on January 7, 2021 -- the day after the U.S. Capitol attack by Trump supporters.
The Coffee County video indicates they spent hours in the secure area of the office, scanning what was supposed to be secure election software. The election director, Misty Hampton, was forced out weeks after the January 2021 breach. The GBI has said for months it is investigating, but little else.
"I’m a bit frustrated that it’s taking so long for the investigation to be concluded and decisions made about it," Duffey said Tuesday.
Earlier this month, 11Alive News reported that after leaving Coffee County, nearby Treutlen County hired Misty Hampton to run a special election. The county manager said he "did not have a clue what had been going on over there" when he hired Hampton as a contractor. She left Treutlen County after the election concluded.
Cybersecurity experts say the software knowledge accessed in Coffee County could potentially be used to hack Georgia's election system in subsequent elections. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger's office has repeatedly insisted that Georgia's election systems are safe and secure.
"I’m disappointed that (Treutlen) County didn’t get more information to know more about her," Duffey said Tuesday.
A state investigator seized Treutlen County’s election server after Duffey asked state officials to expand the investigation he says has been frustratingly slow.
"It’s -- somehow that person can be hired by a different county, to have access to voting machines and to have a responsibility for them. And I think that’s a failing in the system," Duffey said.