Georgia Voters Were Accidentally Doxxed by an IT Employee

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp said he has fired a technology staffer who he holds responsible for the illegal disclosure of residents’ personal information.

“Our office shares voter registration data every month with news media and political parties that have requested it as required by Georgia law,” Kemp said. “Due to a clerical error where information was put in the wrong file, 12 recipients received a disc that contained personal identifying information that should not have been included.”

In a statement issued on Thursday, Kemp also said, “I take full responsibility for this mistake.”

The office, in October, released data on compact discs, including Social Security numbers and birthdates, to 12 organizations who regularly subscribe to “voter lists” maintained by the state, such as Georgia GunOwner Magazine.

Officials apparently did not learn about the mess-up until 35 days later when they were served with a class-action lawsuit on Nov. 17 alleging a massive data breach.

Kemp now says all 12 discs sent to the organizations “have been accounted for. Each recipient, including the Georgia Republican Party and the Georgia Democratic Party, has confirmed that the data was not retained or disseminated to any outside parties.”

Anyone registered to vote in Georgia is affected by the breach, some 6.2 million people.