problems with the expressvote xl by ES&S

ES&S (Election Systems & Software), the largest vendor of voting systems in the U.S. was seeking to certify a touchscreen voting machine that counts votes with barcodes in New York State. The voting machine is called the ExpressVote XL.

Security experts and good government groups say that the ExpressVote XL has a flawed design that makes it dangerously insecure, and that it is also glitchy (1), and over-priced. Many of them strongly oppose its use. Voters with disabilities have often struggled to use it. 

Emails obtained through public records requests reveal that in May of 2019, the New York State Board of Elections halted certification of the ExpressVote XL due to concerns that state regulations do not allow its use.

After the certification process was halted, the ES&S legal team threatened to sue the Board stating, “ES&S has authorized our firm to take any and all legal action necessary to preserve their rights...as your… actions have put ES&S in a position to lose… many business opportunities to sell the XL system to New York State customers.” 

The New York State Board of Elections capitulated and is now poised to certify the ExpressVote XL.

Other documents obtained through public records request reveal that ES&S deceived the board about the company's past/present litigation and did not provide the New York State Board with all the documents it was legally required to provide.

ES&S has now threatened to sue SMART Elections, sending a cease & desist letter to us, for providing information to the public about these issues.

Andrew Appel, the Eugene Higgins Professor Computer Science at Princeton University has written a blog post explaining that  "the folks at SMART Elections are aware of these scientific studies, and are basing their journalism and advocacy on good science."

HIs blog post clarifies that "The ExpressVote XL, if hacked, can add, delete, or change votes  on individual ballots — and no voting machine is immune from hacking.   That’s why optical-scan voting machines are the way to go, because they  can’t change what’s printed on the ballot.  And let me explain some  more:  The ExpressVote XL, if adopted, will deteriorate our security and  our ability to have confidence in our elections, and indeed it is a bad  voting machine.  And expensive, too!"

We must continue to follow expert guidance in our elections and not succumb to vendor pressure to buy expensive systems that do not serve the public. It is imperative that we protect our right to accessible, accurate, private, and secure elections. 

Below are related documents

• Good government groups oppose the ExpressVote XL
• Many elected officials oppose the ExpressVote XL
• 7 NY Disability rights groups oppose the ExpressVote  XL
• Many voters with disabilities find using the ExpressVote XL difficult
• Security experts say that the ExpressVote XL is not secure and they do not recommend it
• Security expert Andrew Appel asks the League of Women Voters to take a position against "hybrid" voting machines.
• The New York State Board of Elections is concerned about the design flaws of the ExpressVote XL
• ES&S has a history of litigation and deceit
• ES&S threatened to sue the NY State Board of Elections
• ES&S threatened to sue SMART Elections
• SMART Elections response to ES&S threats
• ES&S did sue Cook County IL when they chose a competitor
• New York State Board of Elections could certify the ExpressVote XL soon. 
• In 2019, New York City requested permission to use the ExpressVote XL, even before it was certified. 

 1. “As many as 30% of Northampton County’s ExpressVote XL voting machines had flawed touch screens that prevented voters from selecting candidates listed on the edge of the ballot. At the same time, machines failed to electronically count any votes for some candidates in cross-filed races.” - The Morning call 12/19/19