Court OKs Fast Track of Georgia Voting Machines Appeal

A Georgia federal appeals court agreed to fast track the request for a forensic review of Georgia voting machines. Lawyer Sidney Powell filed a lawsuit last week accusing the voting machine manufacturer, Dominion Election Systems, of deploying less than secure equipment. Also, she alleged that these units allow access by foreign powers so they can interfere with the elections.

 RELATED: Georgia Election Recount Says Biden Won

Last Sunday, U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten Sr. issued an order Sunday ordering officials in Cherokee, Cobb, and Gwinnett counties from resetting the voting machines used. Batten’s order read as follows: “Defendants are hereby ENJOINED and RESTRAINED from altering, destroying, or erasing, or allowing the alteration, destruction, or erasure of, any software or data on any Dominion voting machine in Cobb, Gwinnett, and Cherokee Counties. This temporary restraining order shall remain in effect for ten days, or until further order of the Court, whichever comes first.”

Room for Appeal

Powell filed an appeal after a judge initially declined her request earlier this week. She asked for a temporary restraining order forcing audits of Georgia’s Dominion Voting Systems Inc. machines. Judge Batten allowed a freeze on the voting machines, giving Powell an opportunity to appeal the decision. In addition, the court granted her emergency motion to expedite briefings on whether it will even hear the case at such an early stage. In consideration of the appeal, the scheduled Friday hearing on Powell’s bid to decertify the election results will take place on a later date. 

Fulton Issue

Fulton County encountered a series of issues during their latest recount activity. This caused Fulton election officials to rescan 12,000 ballots. As such, Georgia Republican Party Chair David Shafer announced the sudden problem. “Fulton County Commissioner [Liz Hausmann] just alerted me that Fulton County is re-scanning a batch of 12,000 ballots due to unexplained technical problems,” he said. “We have dispatched Republican monitors back to the tabulation center. This is maddening.” 

Last Sunday, election officials had to halt a recount after a Dominion mobile server crashed. Fulton officials dispatched technicians from Dominion to resolve the problem. Also, they also informed the Georgia Secretary of State’s office about the problem with the Georgi. 

State Secretary's Office

Upon learning of the issue, the State Secretary’s office was livid. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, himself a Republican, chided Fulton officials for their apparent “dysfunction.” Prior to this recount, Raffensperger already bore the brunt of the GOP and President Trump’s complaints about not doing anything about the alleged irregularities. 

Raffensperger said: “Us and our office, and I think the rest of the state, is getting a little tired of always having to wait on Fulton County and always having to put up with their dysfunction. They can still make it by our midnight Wednesday deadline, but they seem to want to make it a dramatic finish.” 

‘Stop the Steal’

Powell, a former member of President Trump’s legal campaign team, led a combination press conference and rally in Atlanta last Wednesday to protest the state's election results. Lin Wood, a local lawyer, and Trump supporter joined her. Together they led the crowd to chant “lock him up,” referring to the state's Republican governor, Brian Kemp. 

During the erstwhile rally, Wood asked the crowd to boycott the January 5 runoff elections for Georgia’s two Senate seats. He said people shouldn’t vote unless the state agrees to fix its voting system.”Why would you go back and vote in another rigged election,” he asked.

‘Totally Destructive’

The Stop the Steal rally alarmed some of the more senior Republicans. A boycott will deal a severe blow to the chances of Republicans maintaining a majority in the Senate. Even former House Speaker Newt Gingrich had to tweet an appeal. He sent: “Lin Wood and Sidney Powell are totally destructive. Every Georgia conservative who cares about America MUST vote in the runoff. There don't vote strategy will cripple America.” 

There’s a big chance that even if officials find something wrong with the machines, by then it will become too late to overturn the elections. At the least, Americans can identify the election system’s weak points and improve on them. More importantly, none of this won’t matter if Georgia residents will not go out and vote.

Watch the 11Alive report where a Georgia judge orders the freezing of voting machines from three Georgia counties:

Do you agree with the need to examine the Georgia voting machines? Let us know how you think this scenario ends. Share with us your comments and ideas in the comment section below!