Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger's decision to investigate three people who are challenging Georgia's election practices will backfire, said an attorney litigating the cases.

"Any citizen who dares criticize the secretary's stewardship of the state's election system is apparently a target," said Atlanta attorney Bruce Brown after Raffensperger's general counsel Ryan Germany notified him the office is investigating three people who monitored voting on the state's new ballot marking devices in six pilot locations on Election Day.

The new ballot marking devices, which the state contracted to purchase in late July and promises to have in place by the 2020 presidential primary next March, are at issue in an ongoing federal challenge to compel Georgia to return to paper ballots. Raffensperger is a defendant in the case.