# Georgia election server wiped clean after lawsuit filed **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 26, 2017, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-election-server-wiped-clean-after-lawsuit-filed/799886 "2017-10-26T13:35:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-election-server-wiped-clean-after-lawsuit-filed/799886/1 "2017-10-26T13:35:25Z")
[Story here](https://apnews.com/877ee1015f1c43f1965f63538b035d3f/APNewsBreak:-Georgia-election-server-wiped-after-suit-filed). > [@](#): > > A computer server crucial to a lawsuit against Georgia election officials was quietly wiped clean by its custodians just after the suit was filed, The Associated Press has learned. > > The server’s data was destroyed July 7 by technicians at the Center for Elections Systems at Kennesaw State University, which runs the state’s election system. The data wipe was revealed in an email — sent last week from an assistant state attorney general to plaintiffs in the case — that was obtained by the AP. More emails obtained in a public records request confirmed the wipe. > > The lawsuit, filed by a diverse group of election reform advocates, aims to force Georgia to retire its antiquated and heavily criticized election technology. The server in question, which served as a statewide staging location for key election-related data, made national headlines in June after a security expert disclosed a gaping security hole that wasn’t fixed six months after he reported it to election authorities. > > WIPED OUT > > It’s not clear who ordered the server’s data irretrievably erased. > > The Kennesaw election center answers to Georgia’s secretary of state, Brian Kemp, a Republican who is running for governor in 2018 and is the main defendant in the suit. A spokeswoman for the secretary of state’s office said Wednesday that “we did not have anything to do with this decision,” adding that the office also had no advance warning of the move. > > The center’s director, Michael Barnes, referred questions to the university’s press office, which declined comment. > [@](#): > > The server data could have revealed whether Georgia’s most recent elections were compromised by malicious hackers. The plaintiffs contend that the results of both last November’s election and a special June 20 congressional runoff— won by Kemp’s predecessor, Karen Handel — cannot be trusted. > > Possible Russian interference in U.S. politics, including attempts to penetrate voting systems, has been an acute national preoccupation since the Obama administration first sounded the alarm more than a year ago. > > Kemp and his GOP allies insist Georgia’s elections system is secure. But Marilyn Marks, executive director of the Coalition for Good Governance, a plaintiff, believes the server data was erased precisely because the system isn’t secure. > > “I don’t think you could find a voting systems expert who would think the deletion of the server data was anything less than insidious and highly suspicious,” she said. Thankfuly, the data may not be gone, at least not all of it: > [@](#): > > The FBI is known to have made an exact data image of the server in March when it investigated the security hole. The email that disclosed the server wipe said the state attorney general’s office was “reaching out to the FBI to determine whether they still have the image.” > > Atlanta FBI spokesman Stephen Emmett, responding to AP questions, would not say whether that image still exists. Nor would he say whether agents examined it to determine whether the server’s files might have been altered by unauthorized users. Are there any other backups? Don’t they routinely make backups of their data at KSU? > [@](#): > > Other backups also appear to be gone. In the same email to plaintiffs’ attorneys, assistant state Attorney General Cristina Correia wrote that two backup servers were also wiped clean on Aug. 9, just as the lawsuit moved to federal court. I’ll make a prediction, hoping that I’m wrong: I predict that there will be no official repercussions from this erasure. No one will be censured, no one will lose their job, no one will even be called out as the responsible party. And the lawsuit will be stymied, dead in the water, without this data and so the election results, which people already don’t have confidence in, will stand. Heck, at the rate things are going, Mr. Kemp will prolly win his election after declaring what a great thing it is that all the data was lost, since he prolly wouldn’t still be running for office if they had found it \. Hey, how did all that voter ID help to prevent this kind of fraud? It did help, right? I’m also amazed that a machine that doesn’t produce a paper trail would still be in use; I thought we all figured out that was just asking for trouble many years ago now. TL; DR: The thread title has the most important bits in it. Hopefully with this thread we can keep track of news and discuss events as they happen and not lose track of what could be a very important lawsuit. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-election-server-wiped-clean-after-lawsuit-filed/799886/2 "2017-10-26T14:45:15Z")
It’s fine, this is the new normal. Losing election data, who really cares. The important thing is that the right person won. Besides, how can you doubt the results of the election after we have implemented Voter ID which ensures the integrity of the election? The machine was known to have security vulnerabilities, those vulnerabilities were known to the public (including say, foreign agents [or domestic], who wished to sway the election), we know that there were russian efforts in directly affecting election results, though it did seem as though our security had thwarted such attempts in the 2016, or at least, there was no evidence that they succeeded. But, there are two ways of making sure that there is no evidence of a crime. The first is not to do it. The second is to wipe the election servers clean to remove the evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-election-server-wiped-clean-after-lawsuit-filed/799886/3 "2017-10-26T15:17:34Z")
Wiped? [Like with a cloth or something](http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/aug/19/hillary-clinton-wiping-email-server-cloth-or-somet/)? Obviously no one would do something like that unless [del]she[/del] he had something to hide. We need several years of investigations! 😉 Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-election-server-wiped-clean-after-lawsuit-filed/799886/4 "2017-10-26T15:23:38Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Wiped? [Like with a cloth or something](http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/aug/19/hillary-clinton-wiping-email-server-cloth-or-somet/)? > > Obviously no one would do something like that unless [del]she[/del] he had something to hide. We need several years of investigations! 😉 > > Regards, > Shodan Because someone’s personal computer is exactly equivalent to the server that holds the voting data of a state. But, yeah, now that you bring it up, if we are going to have that many investigations over a person’s use of a home computer, and the possibility that it may have had some level of compromise that may have possibly leaked some sort of secret to the hackers who had already hacked the state department, then you would absolutely support investigations into who wiped a server clean that is directly related to the integrity of our democracy, right? Good attempt at false equivalence, but it only makes your position look disingenuous if you were for the investigations into her server, but not into one that actually could have had evidence of actual threats to our democracy. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-election-server-wiped-clean-after-lawsuit-filed/799886/5 "2017-10-26T15:29:52Z")
From the article: > [@](#): > > The email that disclosed the server wipe said the state attorney general’s office was “reaching out to the FBI to determine whether they still have the image.” Pure speculation on my part, but that kinda sounds like the wipe was in error. Like, the KSU techs wiped it and then went, “Oh shit, we better reach out to the FBI and see if they still have their image.” My default level of cynicism and partisan bias makes me think the wipe was probably deliberate, but that part made me question my assumption a little. > [@](#): > > J.Tom Morgan, a former Georgia prosecutor, said destruction of the drive would not be a criminal act unless it was in violation of a protective court order (It appears no such order was requested). But it could seriously damage the defendants’ case, he said. IANAL, but I am a computer forensics guy. My understanding was that when evidence has been spoiled, either deliberately or through negligence, the evidence may be inferred to have been unfavorable to the party responsible for the spoliation. [This article](http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/spoliation) claims: > [@](#): > > Spoliation is illegal in many countries, including the United States, and is punishable by fine and/or incarceration. Furthermore, the legal system has established through case law that when spoliation has occurred it may be inferred that the evidence was unfavorable to the responsible party. As a result, that inference may be factored into the decision of the case. That article cites a [book](https://books.google.ca/books?id=Hc8AdH30KBAC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_summary_r&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false) that describes cases in which people were punished for wiping data. I haven’t read the whole chapter, so I’m not sure if any of the cases it describes are relevant to the KSU case. Hopefully one of our resident lawyers can comment. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-election-server-wiped-clean-after-lawsuit-filed/799886/6 "2017-10-26T15:32:34Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > Pure speculation on my part, but that kinda sounds like the wipe was in error. Like, the KSU techs wiped it and then went, “Oh shit, we better reach out to the FBI and see if they still have their image.” My default level of cynicism and partisan bias makes me think the wipe was probably deliberate, but that part made me question my assumption a little. Or it could be their lawyer said “You did WHAT?” and they answered “Oh, shit, that’s right.” ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-election-server-wiped-clean-after-lawsuit-filed/799886/7 "2017-10-26T15:37:22Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > From the article: > > Pure speculation on my part, but that kinda sounds like the wipe was in error. Like, the KSU techs wiped it and then went, “Oh shit, we better reach out to the FBI and see if they still have their image.” My default level of cynicism and partisan bias makes me think the wipe was probably deliberate, but that part made me question my assumption a little. May have been an “error” for the techs that discovered that it had been wiped, but may not have been such an error the person who actually did the wiping. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-election-server-wiped-clean-after-lawsuit-filed/799886/8 "2017-10-26T15:48:21Z")
Good points, **Elvis** and **k9bfriender**. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-election-server-wiped-clean-after-lawsuit-filed/799886/9 "2017-10-26T15:53:24Z")
And the backups were also wiped? At the same time? Sorry, but my suspension of disbelief ain’t **that** willing. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-election-server-wiped-clean-after-lawsuit-filed/799886/10 "2017-10-26T16:00:32Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Wiped? [Like with a cloth or something](http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/aug/19/hillary-clinton-wiping-email-server-cloth-or-somet/)? > > Obviously no one would do something like that unless [del]she[/del] he had something to hide. We need several years of investigations! 😉 > > Regards, > Shodan Does this have anything to do with the subject of the OP? 😕 Or is it merely a transparent attempt to deflect attention away from the subject of the OP? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-election-server-wiped-clean-after-lawsuit-filed/799886/11 "2017-10-26T16:02:55Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > And the backups were also wiped? At the same time? Sorry, but my suspension of disbelief ain’t **that** willing. What about the paper backups? Certainly they printed paper backups… right? RIGHT? ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-election-server-wiped-clean-after-lawsuit-filed/799886/12 "2017-10-26T16:27:11Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Wiped? [Like with a cloth or something](http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/aug/19/hillary-clinton-wiping-email-server-cloth-or-somet/)? > > Obviously no one would do something like that unless [del]she[/del] he had something to hide. We need several years of investigations! 😉 > > Regards, > Shodan Let’s not hijack this thread regarding the actions or inactions of Clinton. [/moderating] ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-election-server-wiped-clean-after-lawsuit-filed/799886/13 "2017-10-26T16:35:18Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > What about the paper backups? Certainly they printed paper backups… right? RIGHT? No paper backups. Otherwise, there would have been a mysterious fire. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-election-server-wiped-clean-after-lawsuit-filed/799886/14 "2017-10-26T21:20:11Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > From the article: > > Pure speculation on my part, but that kinda sounds like the wipe was in error. Like, the KSU techs wiped it and then went, “Oh shit, we better reach out to the FBI and see if they still have their image.” My default level of cynicism and partisan bias makes me think the wipe was probably deliberate, but that part made me question my assumption a little. I expect they reached out to the FBI because there’s not much point in wiping a drive if another party has a backup. The criminal covering up his crime has incentive to find out if that will be sufficient, and perhaps to point a co-conspirator to wiping that backup as well. Also, what OttoDaFe said. There’s no way to credibly argue in court this is other than a cover-up now. So whatever was on those drives can be inferred to have been such strong evidence of such utter wrongdoing that several persons being charged with a blatant cover-up and losing their careers would be “preferable.” Wow. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-election-server-wiped-clean-after-lawsuit-filed/799886/15 "2017-11-01T20:01:17Z")
[Saw this pop up on the AP just now](https://apnews.com/0b9004bc3828468d9dc636054140a047/Georgia-attorney-general-quits-defense-in-server-wiping-case): > [@](#): > > The Georgia attorney general’s office will no longer represent state election officials in an elections integrity lawsuit in which a crucial computer server was quietly wiped clean three days after the suit was filed, The Associated Press has learned. > [@](#): > > The assistant state attorney general handling the case, Cristina Correia, notified the court and participating attorneys Wednesday that her office was withdrawing from the case, according to an email obtained by the AP. > > Spokeswoman Katelyn McCreary offered no explanation and said she couldn’t comment “on pending matters.” > > Secretary of State Brian Kemp released a statement Wednesday saying the law firm of former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes will represent Kemp and other state election officials. It did not say whether the state would pay Barnes’ firm. Both Kemp and state Attorney General Chris Carr are Republicans. Barnes is a Democrat. > > “Governor Barnes and I don’t see eye to eye on everything, but he will be a zealous advocate for the State Election Board and the Secretary of State to show that these claims are baseless,” Kemp’s statement said. “We look forward to working with him as we continue to provide secure elections in Georgia.”