Gwinnett Daily Post

Camie Young

A day after taking a huge victory in the Democratic primary, Congressman Hank Johnson introduced a bill in Washington aimed at ensuring voting accuracy.

The Verifying Official Totals for Elections (VOTE) Act would require jurisdictions using electronic voting machines to deposit the software or code source in the National Software Reference Library at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

"Computers can fail. And they're never perfectly secure," said Johnson, who received 81 percent of the votes cast, mostly by electronic machines Tuesday. "The VOTE Act goes a long way to protect the sanctity of the voting process, provides transparency and helps ensure accuracy in elections the fundamental underpinning of our democracy."

The bill would allow people to review the source code for improprieties before and after federal electionsAfter the primary victory, Johnson is set to take on Republican Chris Vaughn in November's general election.

Democrats tout McKillip defeat

Georgia Democrats are taking credit for the ouster of Rep. Doug McKillip, a Republican who lost a tight election to Regina Quick Tuesday.

McKillip, whose district included parts of Barrow, switched parties days after winning his Athens-based seat as a Democrat in 2010.

"It was a calculated decision to move up the political ladder, and McKillip felt confident that there would be no day of reckoning. Surprise," Mike Berlon, the Loganville lawyer who is the state Democratic Party chair, said in an email claiming victory in the GOP primary. "Due to smart planning, good organizing and a hefty dose of help from the Georgia Democratic House Caucus, over 1,000 loyal Democrats picked a GOP ballot yesterday with a single goal... to vote out Rep. McKillip in the Republican primary. The day of reckoning was July 31, 2012 for this party-switcher."

Berlon's message, which called McKillip "Pubic Enemy No. 1," referenced party accomplishments in the past year, including again claiming victory in Kelly Kautz's election as Snellville mayor. (Kautz maintains she is an independent.) It goes on to push for November.

"It's time to push the gas pedal on this Party. It's time to step up our game," Berlon said.

Political Notebook appears in the Thursday and Sunday editions of the Gwinnett Daily Post.

Camie Young can be reached via email at camie.young@gwinnettdailypost.com.

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