I think I heard that correctly. Any lawyers here who can confirm or refute? I believe he said because they are all scanned and they are public records, anyone can get them and put them on a thumb drive.
Yale University has a memo, Election Transparency Rules for Georgia (Current as of October 28, 2020), that says:
Are individual ballots accessible through FOIA or court order?
The statutes do not specify whether or not individual ballots can be requested via FOIA. Individual absentee ballots may be considered “election records,” which are open to public inspection by any state elector, but the statute does not explicitly state that individual ballots are considered to be “election records.” §§ 21-2-51 & 72
If you can request the delivery of the records as a digital file, and you are allowed to file a FOIA request by email, it might be an easy request. There might still be an issue of the state being required to redact part of it (?), but you could narrow your request to get a sample at a sample size you want.
As far as I know, you don't have to be a Georgia resident to make a FOIA request. (You may not even have to be a US citizen.)
If you file a FOIA request, which can be as simple as a letter, your name becomes a public record as the requester of the record, but you can work through a lawyer for privacy (I think), if it concerns you.
You should be able to follow in the wake of an earlier FOIA if it's for something you want. For example, if somebody has already filed and received exactly what you want (or close enough), you can ask for the same. Because the prep of this record or batch of records has already been completed, you should be able to receive it quickly (i.e., the FOIA official only has to copy and paste the file or folder). You can file a FOIA request to see what others have already requested and whether it was provided.
FOIA fishing done correctly is almost like subpoena power without having to file a lawsuit.
Judicial Watch is the king of conservative FOIA requests but it's available to anyone.
I think I heard that correctly. Any lawyers here who can confirm or refute? I believe he said because they are all scanned and they are public records, anyone can get them and put them on a thumb drive.
Yale University has a memo, Election Transparency Rules for Georgia (Current as of October 28, 2020), that says:
Are individual ballots accessible through FOIA or court order?
The statutes do not specify whether or not individual ballots can be requested via FOIA. Individual absentee ballots may be considered “election records,” which are open to public inspection by any state elector, but the statute does not explicitly state that individual ballots are considered to be “election records.” §§ 21-2-51 & 72
If you can request the delivery of the records as a digital file, and you are allowed to file a FOIA request by email, it might be an easy request. There might still be an issue of the state being required to redact part of it (?), but you could narrow your request to get a sample at a sample size you want.
As far as I know, you don't have to be a Georgia resident to make a FOIA request. (You may not even have to be a US citizen.)
If you file a FOIA request, which can be as simple as a letter, your name becomes a public record as the requester of the record, but you can work through a lawyer for privacy (I think), if it concerns you.
You should be able to follow in the wake of an earlier FOIA if it's for something you want. For example, if somebody has already filed and received exactly what you want (or close enough), you can ask for the same. Because the prep of this record or batch of records has already been completed, you should be able to receive it quickly (i.e., the FOIA official only has to copy and paste the file or folder). You can file a FOIA request to see what others have already requested and whether it was provided.
FOIA fishing done correctly is almost like subpoena power without having to file a lawsuit.
I think I heard that correctly. Any lawyers here who can confirm or refute? I believe he said because they are all scanned and they are public records, anyone can get them and put them on a thumb drive.
Yale University has a memo, Election Transparency Rules for Georgia (Current as of October 28, 2020), that says:
Are individual ballots accessible through FOIA or court order?
The statutes do not specify whether or not individual ballots can be requested via FOIA. Individual absentee ballots may be considered “election records,” which are open to public inspection by any state elector, but the statute does not explicitly state that individual ballots are considered to be “election records.” §§ 21-2-51 & 72
If you can request the delivery of the records as a digital file, and you are allowed to file a FOIA request by email, it might be an easy request. There might still be an issue of the state being required to redact part of it (?), but you could narrow your request to get a sample at a sample size you want.
Note 1: As far as I know, you don't have to be a Georgia resident to make a FOIA request. (You may not even have to be a US citizen.)
Note 2: If you file a FOIA request, which can be as simple as a letter, your name becomes a public record as the requester of the record, but you can work through a lawyer for privacy (I think), if it concerns you.
Note 3: You should be able to follow in the wake of an earlier FOIA if it's for something you want. For example, if somebody has already filed and received exactly what you want (or close enough), you can ask for the same. Because the prep of this record or batch of records has already been completed, you should be able to receive it quickly (i.e., the FOIA official only has to copy and paste the file or folder). You can file a FOIA request to see what others have already requested and whether it was provided.
FOIA fishing done correctly is almost like subpoena power on the cheap without having to file a lawsuit.
I think I heard that correctly. Any lawyers here who can confirm or refute? I believe he said because they are all scanned and they are public records, anyone can get them and put them on a thumb drive.
Yale University has a memo, Election Transparency Rules for Georgia (Current as of October 28, 2020), that says:
Are individual ballots accessible through FOIA or court order?
The statutes do not specify whether or not individual ballots can be requested via FOIA. Individual absentee ballots may be considered “election records,” which are open to public inspection by any state elector, but the statute does not explicitly state that individual ballots are considered to be “election records.” §§ 21-2-51 & 72
If you can request the delivery of the records as a digital file, and you are allowed to file a FOIA request by email, it might be an easy request. There might still be an issue of the state being required to redact part of it (?), but you could narrow your request to get a sample at a sample size you want.
Note 1: As far as I know, you don't have to be a Georgia resident to make a FOIA request. (You may not even have to be a US citizen.)
Note 2: If you file a FOIA request, which can be as simple as a letter, your name becomes a public record as the requester of the record, but you can work through a lawyer for privacy (I think), if it concerns you.
I think I heard that correctly. Any lawyers here who can confirm or refute? I believe he said because they are all scanned and they are public records, anyone can get them and put them on a thumb drive.
Yale University has a memo, Election Transparency Rules for Georgia (Current as of October 28, 2020), that says:
Are individual ballots accessible through FOIA or court order?
The statutes do not specify whether or not individual ballots can be requested via FOIA. Individual absentee ballots may be considered “election records,” which are open to public inspection by any state elector, but the statute does not explicitly state that individual ballots are considered to be “election records.” §§ 21-2-51 & 72
If you can request the delivery of the records as a digital file, and you are allowed to file a FOIA request by email, it might be an easy request. There might still be an issue of the state being required to redact part of it (?), but you could narrow your request to get a sample at a sample size you want.
Note 1: As far as I know, you don't have to be a Georgia resident to make a FOIA request.
Note 2: If you file a FOIA request, which can be as simple as a letter, your name becomes a public record as the requester of the record, but you can work through a lawyer for privacy (I think), if it concerns you.