Georgia insists server deletion was not undertaken to delete evidence

Georgia insists server deletion was “not undertaken to delete evidence”
"Narrative asserted in the media that the data was nefariously deleted… is without merit."
CYRUS FARIVAR - Ars Technica 11/1/2017, 4:12 PM

Georgia state officials said Monday that the recent reports of server deletion "were not undertaken to delete evidence." The conclusion came as part of a two-page "investigation report" authored by Ryan Germany of the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.

As Ars reported last week, a university server and its backups, believed to be key to a pending federal lawsuit filed against Georgia election officials, were deleted, according to e-mails recently released under a public records request.

Also this week, the state’s Office of the Attorney General (OAG) told plaintiffs that it would no longer be representing state election officials. The lawsuit will now be taken over by Barnes Law Group, headed by former Georgia Governor Ray Barnes.

Georgia previously came under heavy scrutiny after a researcher discovered significant problems with his home state’s voting system. A lawsuit soon followed in state court, asking the court to annul the results of the June 20 special election for Congress and to prevent Georgia’s existing computer-based voting system from being used again. The case, Curling v. Kemp, was filed in Fulton County Superior Court on July 3 but has since been moved to federal court.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/11/georgia-insists-server-deletion-was-not-undertaken-to-delete-evidence/