The Georgia Legislature reconvened on January 8 for the 2018 session, but many Georgians were distracted by the weather and the opportunity to watch the University of Georgia take on the University of Alabama for the National Championship. Although one of the most exciting games in recent history, the Bulldog nation endured a heartbreaking loss in overtime.
Speaking of distracted, there is a bill working its way through the House that is called the Distracted Driving Bill. In essence, the Bill would make it illegal to operate your cell phone while driving your car unless you were hands free. This seems reasonable at first glance, but the issue isn’t that simple. If the legislation seeks to protect lives by reducing accidents caused by distracted driving, then shouldn’t we focus on reducing all distracted driving?
I’m willing to bet that most cars traveling interstate 75/575 in the morning have hot coffee in one hand and a breakfast item near the other. We have all seen the lady with the mirror flipped down attempting to put on her makeup while steering with her knees, or the man attempting to eat his footlong sub sandwich without spilling it all over his lap. Since holding your phone in your hand while you are driving is distracting, wouldn’t holding a lit cigarette in your hand also qualify as distracted driving?
As if this issue wasn’t complicated enough, let’s consider a bill I introduced recently in conjunction with the Attorney General’s office. Georgia is one of three states that has not updated its statute on computer hacking. SB315 will make it illegal to gain access to another person’s electronic device without authorization. In years gone by, an electronic device would be turned off until it was to be used, and a password was sufficient to prevent an unauthorized individual from gaining access to the information stored. Then, everything changed with cloud-based solutions, the internet of things, and a greater reliance on electronic devices in daily life. The State of Georgia has endured its fair share of breaches in recent history including the Secretary of State’s voter record breach as well as Kennesaw State’s voter records hack. Prosecution has proven challenging, and this legislation will aid authorities with future breaches.
Since we’re attempting to provide the necessary tools to prosecute perpetrators who attempt to access records they are not authorized to access, shouldn’t we also consider securing our voting machines? 2018 elections are extremely important in Georgia, as we elect an entirely new executive branch. I have drafted a similar bill to the one introduced in the House by Representative Scot Turner seeking to modernize Georgia’s voting machines.
It has been determined that our current voting machines are extremely vulnerable to manipulation and alteration, and the consensus in the country is to move toward paper ballots. This legislation seeks to replace the current voting machines with new machines and new processes. First, you will have the choice of voting on a new electronic touch screen and then print out the recorded ballot to be scanned by an optical scanner, or you can utilize a paper ballot and then scan the marked ballot. Either way, the results of your ballot will be scanned to provide a paper copy for audit purposes.
to your business!