Kemp’s Office Investigating GA Dems For Alleged Hacking Attempt

a voting booth during elections

The office of Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who is in a tight governor’s race with Democrat Stacey Abrams, announced the news Sunday.

By Kristal Dixon, Patch Staff

ATLANTA, GA — Less than 48 hours after Georgia voters head to the polls to cast ballots on who will become the Peach State’s next governor, the office of the Republican candidate in the race has announced it is investigation his challenger’s political party for an alleged hacking attempt.

The Georgia Secretary of State’s Office led by Republican Brian Kemp said Sunday that it’s investigating the Democratic Party of Georgia’s “failed attempt to hack the state’s voter registration system,” according to a statement on the agency’s website. The SOS said it opened its investigation on the evening of Sunday, Nov. 3.

It also said it notified the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI to the alleged attack.

“While we cannot comment on the specifics of an ongoing investigation, I can confirm that the Democratic Party of Georgia is under investigation for possible cyber crimes,” said Candice Broce, spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s Office. “We can also confirm that no personal data was breached and our system remains secure.”

The Democratic Party of Georgia put out a lengthy statement chastising Kemp’s office, noting it was “another example of abuse of power by an unethical secretary of state.”

“To be very clear, Brian Kemp’s scurrilous claims are 100 percent false, and this so-called investigation was unknown to the Democratic Party of Georgia until a campaign operative in Kemp’s official office released a statement this morning,” said Executive Director Rebecca DeHart. “This political stunt from Kemp just days before the election is yet another example of why he cannot be trusted and should not be overseeing an election in which he is also a candidate for governor. It is also a fact that Brian Kemp is the last person who can be trusted on cyber security given his record of leaking the personal information and social security numbers of six million Georgians. 11th hour, cynical ploys come as no surprise from Brian Kemp, a man who raided the offices of organizations who register people to vote and had a woman arrested for helping her blind father cast his ballot. Brian Kemp is desperate to save his failing campaign, and it’s likely we’ll see even more of his abuses of power as the election nears, but Georgians will keep working hard, knocking on doors, making phone calls, and voting to make sure he doesn’t get a promotion.”

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here)

Kemp and Abrams are in a contentious battle for the governor’s seat. Both candidates have had political and entertainment heavyweights travel to the Peach State to help stump for votes. Abrams received a visit from former President Barack Obama as well as media mogul Oprah Winfrey and actor Will Ferrell. For his part, Kemp hosted a rally with Vice President Mike Pence, and President Donald Trump will campaign alongside the Georgia secretary of state Sunday at a rally in Macon.

Abrams is seeking to become the nation’s first black female governor in history, while Kemp is aiming to maintain the GOP’s stronghold on the office that it’s enjoyed since 2002. As early voting wrapped up Friday, a new poll shows the nation’s most watched governor’s race could be headed for a runoff next month.

The new poll, conducted by Channel 2 and the AJC, showsAbrams and Kemp in a statistical tie at 46 percent, within the poll’s 3-percentage-point margin of error. It’s just the latest poll to show neither candidate is polling close enough to win an outright victory on Tuesday.