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    • About Us
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  • Hybrid Voting Problems
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#ElectionProtection

#ElectionProtection#ElectionProtection#ElectionProtection
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Stay Informed

Protecting elections is critical.


Information you won't get anywhere else.

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COMING UP: Ep 54 | #ElectionProtection Series

Tuesday, March 28 • 4pm PT | 7pm ET

Broadcast on YouTube and Facebook.



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We want fair & accurate elections.

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We're election security advocates. With experience.

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Latest Forum

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Celebration of Life - Reverend Dr. T. Anthony Spearman

The Reverend Dr. T. Anthony Spearman was a leader in almost every area of his life. He was an ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, a former president of the North Carolina State Conference of Branches of the NAACP and a member of the Guilford County Board of Elections. 

Play Now

For SMART Elections and our partner org SMART Legislation, he was a trusted advisor and a friend. 


We mourn his loss, but more importantly we celebrate his courageous life and his legacy. 

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We're transforming U.S. elections.

We're grateful to heroes who help - like you!

Please consider giving a donation of $5 - $500 today!


Please accept our immense gratitude for your partnership, and for including SMART Elections in your charitable giving.

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We're educating, organizing & training non-partisan volunteers how to protect elections.

Our work is raising public confidence.

Events Calendar

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We've got tons of fun, informative events.

We meet every 4th Tuesday at 7pm ET 

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Our Election Protection Forums

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Balanced information that you won't get anywhere else!

The #ElectionProtection forums are a vibrant, revealing dialogue about the problems with our elections & what's needed to improve them. We discuss election security, disability issues, voting rights, and election reform, from perspectives across the political spectrum. 


New forums every 4th Tuesday of the month, 4pm PT | 7pm ET. See upcoming forums.  


Moderator:  Lulu Friesdat, Election Security Journalist, Co-Founder & Executive Director of SMART Elections. Co-Host: Bennie Smith, Shelby County TN Election Commissioner & Software Developer. 


Series sponsored by SMART Elections. Thank you to Fractured Atlas, our fiscal sponsor. 


Learn what SMART stands for! 

Join the community that cares!

Thousands of viewers are watching our forums every 4th Tuesday at 7pm ET. Join our active, smart, fun community by attending regularly!


Join our mailing list! Get reminders & updates for our forums. 


Play past SMART Elections forums on YouTube or Facebook. Be sure to like, follow, and subscribe!  

ASL interpreters and close captioning

ASL interpreters courtesy of Sign Language Connection (SLC) at the Center for Disability Rights. Closed captions available live on Facebook, and on the YouTube replay.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

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"Let me say again how WONDERFUL all your seminars have been --just unbelievably outstanding!!"  - Dr. Ruth H. Strauss MD 

"That was great tonight! .... Overall just a great program..."  - Matthew Kohn, Filmmaker

"Information on election security that you will probably not find anywhere else. Definitely mind blowing..."  - Jennifer Tanner, LA County Voters Action Coalition 

"The SMART Elections forums bring together national experts to explain how elections work from the inside." - Catherine Ray, advocate

'SMART Elections' Election Protection Series offers a Master Class in Election Security. Lulu Friesdat, her guest speakers and informative visuals not only illustrate the pitfalls of bad voting machine technology but also offer examples of safe alternatives.”  - Sara Campbell, advocate 

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SMART Elections in the New York Times

NYC Elections Fiasco - 130,000 Test Ballots Mixed with Real Ones

Brian M. Rosenthal, Dana Rubinstein, Andy Newman, Anne Barnard and Ed Shanahan | June 30, 2021


This week the New York Times quoted our Executive Director about the latest blunder of the New York City Board of Elections.


"It's just one fiasco after another, year after year," said Lulu Friesdat, executive director of Smart Elections, an elections reform group. "The fact that we haven't made the effort to change that is shocking. It's appalling."


Read the full article


More press coverage

brooklyn transparency project

Picture of a spreadsheet that shows discrepancy in ballot counts.

698 More Ballots Than Voters

Uncooperative Board of Elections

698 More Ballots Than Voters

Picture a spreadsheet that shows where the ballot scanner  counts were short.

Scanner Count Off

Uncooperative Board of Elections

698 More Ballots Than Voters

Learn more
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Uncooperative Board of Elections

Uncooperative Board of Elections

Uncooperative Board of Elections

Picture of ExpressVote XL machine alongside text that it can add, change, delete votes on ballot.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR PARTNER SMART LEGISLATION

YOUR VOTE IS UNDER ATTACK


New York elections are at a dangerous crossroads. New types of voting machines, called “hybrid” or “universal-use”, are attempting to flood the state. 


  • “Hybrid” voting machines are designed to mark your vote for you, then count it. 
  • “Universal-use” refers to a voting set-up where all voters use the same system. 


Both of these designs often use a computerized ATM-style voting machine that does not allow you to use a hand-marked paper ballot. Both types of voting machines are in the process of being approved by the New York State Board of Elections.


  • They are scheduled for approval starting in February of 2023.


These voting machines have other worrisome features, such as counting votes with barcodes. Experts say that using barcodes to count votes makes it “impossible for the voter to verify who they voted for.”


Experts and good government groups say these machines will change New York’s entire way of voting, undermine confidence, and vastly increase election budgets, because these voting machines are the most expensive on the market. They warn of longer lines to vote, because they say that when everyone votes on a computerized ballot-marker … everyone waits longer. 


Experts and good government groups recommend lawmakers take action to protect New York voters by immediately passing two bills updating New York’s election security laws, which have not had an overhaul since 2008. 


The recommended bills are NY A1115C/S309B and A829A/S6211.


You can write or call your legislator and ask them to co-sponsor A1115C/S309B and A829A/S6211. and pass both bills as soon as the legislature convenes in January.


Find your Assembly Member. Find your Senator. 


Suggested Script:  I'm asking you to co-sponsor and support the immediate passage of  A1115C/S309B and A829A/S6211. These bills are urgently needed to protect New Yorkers from voting machines that security experts say “will deteriorate our security and our ability to have confidence in our elections.”  These voting machines called hybrid and universal-use machines could contribute to long lines to vote and a loss of confidence. Let's protect the system we have now. Thank you.


Write or call the NY Governor and ask her to reach out to the legislature and support A1115C/S309B and A829A/S6211


You and groups you work with can join the coalition fighting to preserve our way of voting in New York. 


We meet on Fridays.

Click either link to register. It is the same link for both meetings.

Stay as long as you like for either or both.


  • 12pm on Fridays - beginner's meeting to learn more about the problem and solutions.
  • 12:30 - 1:30pm on Fridays - strategy meeting to pass urgent legislation. 

Join the Fri Meetup

"BAD" VOTING MACHINES FORUM DOCS

DOWNLOAD ALL DOCS FROM BAD VOTING MACHINES FORUM 2023_0103 (zip)Download
POVPhilly Press Release ExpressVote XL failures in Philadelphia exposed (docx)Download
POV-Philly_ExpressVote XL_BadChoice with link (pdf)Download
POV-Philly_ExpressVote XL_BadChoice with link as Word Doc (odt)Download
Disability Rights NY [DRNY] Statement Against Dominion ICE - 2018-09 HIGHLIGHT (pdf)Download
Transcript from ESS demo for Downstate NY Adapt with Garella Notes (doc)Download
Transcript ESSdemo_7pm_2022_1012 (txt)Download
2021-09-21 Halderman Declaration from Coalition For Good Governance (pdf)Download
2021.08.02 - Expert Rebuttal Declaration of J. Alex Halderman_from Coalition for Good Governance (pdf)Download
CISA Vulnerabilities Affecting Dominion Voting Systems ImageCast X (pdf)Download

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