With the midterm elections only weeks away, the Georgia State Election Board voted 3-2 to invite the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) into the state's voting system. The resolution directs the board's executive director to seek federal help "from any quarter," according to Democracy Docket. It also pushes Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to hand over data on Georgia's election machines and to pursue a vaguely described software update to the state's voting equipment.

Georgia voters deserve a calm, predictable election. Changing voting equipment this close to Election Day, based on complaints the resolution never clearly spells out, risks confusion at the polls and chips away at public trust. Sending machine data to federal agencies without clear limits or public transparency raises serious questions about security and ballot secrecy.

Opposition to the resolution crossed party lines. Board chair John Fervier, appointed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, voted no. "I have a fundamental issue with the federal government becoming involved in Georgia elections," he said, according to Democracy Docket. Sara Tindall Ghazal, the board's only Democrat, also voted no. "No matter who is in office, I do not support federal intervention in state-run elections," she said.

Georgians of every political stripe can agree on a simple idea: elections should be run by the state, in the open, under rules set long before voters cast their ballots.

The Georgia State Election Board should rescind this resolution. Secretary Raffensperger should refuse any last-minute changes to voting equipment and keep election machine data out of federal hands unless the public is told exactly what is shared and why.

Sign the petition to keep Georgia's elections in Georgia's hands before voters head to the polls this fall.