Georgians are logging into new apps intended to help find people in your area, but they’re not going to help you spark romance, hitch a ride or order dinner.
The age of technologically assisted mass voter challenges is well upon us, and these tools could have a major impact on the 2024 elections. Fans of the apps say they will help prevent cheating by removing invalid voters from the rolls, making it harder for bad actors to cast fake votes. Opponents say all they will do is insert chaos into the process.
“What our office is concerned about is that valid voters who are entitled to be registered might be removed from voter rolls erroneously, and that might impede someone’s right to vote,” said Mike Hassinger, spokesperson for Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office. “That’s the holy grail of secretaries of state — every valid voter needs to be able to have the opportunity to vote. And while we appreciate the concerns of outside groups about the integrity of our voter rolls, we are diligent in maintaining their accuracy.”
Hassinger said the data available to the state is far more accurate and complete than what those outside groups can access.
“It’s not like, you know, Coke versus Pepsi versus Dr Pepper,” Hassinger said. “These are not like off-the-shelf software programs that we have. We have procedures, practices, systems and routine checks that are already better than anything Eagle AI could provide.”