FBI seeks info on woman identified as Democratic volunteer after Georgia voter system attacked

The identity of a person being scrutinized by the FBI after Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp launched an investigation into the state’s Democratic Party over “possible cyber crimes” has been revealed.

An official from the office of Kemp, who is running as the state’s Republican gubernatorial nominee, told ABC-affiliate WSB-TV on Sunday the FBI was seeking information regarding a woman named Rachel Small as part of the probe.

Georgia Democrats, who have called the inquiry into the supposed unsuccessful hacking attempt on the state’s voter registration system Saturday evening a “political stunt,” were quick to respond to the report on Twitter.

“BREAKING: Team Kemp is losing their minds,” the Democratic Party of Georgia tweeted. “Rachel Small is a volunteer for the Democratic Party of Georgia on our voter protection hotline. She received an email from a man named Richard Wright. She forwarded Richard’s email to our voter protection director. Sorry, @BrianKempGA.”

Kemp’s race against Democrat Stacey Abrams is one of the most competitive for a governor’s mansion in the country. The pair have frequently sparred over Kemp’s dual role as secretary of state, in which he oversees elections, and a candidate, particularly as it relates to Georgia’s registration framework. For example, a federal judge last week ruled that Georgia must ease “exact match” rules, which present an obstacle to voters flagged as being irregularly registered.

Details of the alleged cyber attack are scant. The office of Secretary of State spokeswoman Candice Broce, however, said no “personal data” had been breached.

“We opened an investigation into the Democratic Party of Georgia after receiving information from our legal team about failed efforts to breach the online voter registration system and My Voter Page,” Broce wrote in a statement. “We are working with our private sector vendors and investigators to review data logs.”

Kemp’s campaign added “the Democrats tried to expose vulnerabilities” in Georgia’s registration procedures.

“This was a 4th quarter Hail Mary pass that was intercepted in the end zone,” Kemp’s communications director Ryan Mahoney said. “These power-hungry radicals should be held accountable for their criminal behavior.”

Georgia Democrats have condemned the probe, accusing Kemp of abusing his position and saying that he was “the last person” who should be tasked with protecting the state’s registration infrastructure.

“We did not create, discover, or attempt to take advantage of the deeply vulnerable system used by the Secretary of State’s office,” the party wrote via a statement.