Case 1:17-cv-02989-AT Document 579 Filed 08/15/19 Page 25 of 153 B. The DREs work in tandem with the Global Election Management System (“GEMS”) interface, which poses additional problems for election integrity and security. The DREs work in tandem with the Global Election Management System (“GEMS”) – the computer software that generates the ballot programming files.22 (Halderman Decl. ¶ 31) (stating that the computer software that generates the ballot programming files is called an election management system (EMS)). According to Dr. Halderman, “ballot programming files typically are created by election officials either on a regular desktop computer in a government office, or by an election service vendor that creates programming for voting machines across many jurisdictions.” (Halderman Decl. ¶ 31; see also Tr., Doc. 570 at 60-61 (Merritt Beaver’s testimony describing the ballot building process and files being moved back and forth from desktop computers to the GEMS server and vice versa).) Michael Barnes, Director of the CES, is responsible for oversight of the GEMS ballot generation files for all 159 Georgia Counties. The Georgia GEMS server runs on a Windows XP/2000 operating system.23 (Tr., Doc. 307 at 227, 307-308; Tr., Doc. 570 at 274-75.) In general terms, as explained more fully below, the ballots are constructed in a GEMS A related software program, maintained and licensed by PCC (a different company than ES&S that licenses the GEMS / DRE software), is used to create the ExpressPoll pollbooks providing confidential voter identification information by precinct. Poll workers access this data by computer to verify voter registration and to create the DRE Voter Access Card, which activates the specific electronic ballot on the DRE machine that should be linked to the voter’s address and precinct. 23 Theresa Payton of Fortalice Solutions, retained by the State to evaluate the security of the Secretary of State’s general computer network system, testified at the 2019 hearing that while software patches are available for the Windows XP operating system, she “wouldn’t want to run [her] stuff on it.” (Tr., Doc. 570 at 275.) 22 25