FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 7, 2021
CONTACT: Lulu Friesdat, Executive Director
PRESS RELEASE
Top Election Security Experts and Good Government Groups Ask NYS Legislature to Urgently Ban "Bad" Voting Machine
Areas of interest: Election Protection, Election Security, Voting Technology
New York City - June 7, 2021 -- The clock is ticking down on the New York legislative session, which ends Thursday, June 10th. Andrew Appel, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Computer Science at Princeton University, has written a letter urgently asking the legislature to make sure that they protect New York voters from “bad” voting machines before they close shop. Thirty-five other top election security, auditing and technology experts, as well as national and local good government groups, have joined the request for critical passage of a piece of model election-security legislation, known as the hybrid-ban bill (A1115A/S309A).
At issue is whether voting machines in New York will be allowed to combine a ballot-marking device and a scanner/tabulator in the same piece of equipment. That design, commonly referred to as a “hybrid” voting machine, has raised serious security concerns. Election security experts say that many hybrid voting machines allow the ballot, or the summary card with the votes, to pass under the printhead after it is cast by the voter. If hacked, the voting machine “can add, delete, or change votes on individual ballots,” says Appel. In an investigative series produced by SMART Elections, he called the hybrid design “a disaster.”
Professor Appel has written extensively about voting technology. He has testified before Congress and been featured on the cover of Politico magazine. He says in his letter, “Not only are these machines dangerous—they don’t fill any real need. Other vendors are offering better voting machines.”
The bill was introduced in the New York Assembly by Amy Paulin, and in the Senate by Zellnor Myrie. "At a moment when false claims and misinformation about election security are being spread by those in positions of power around the country, New York has an opportunity to set a high standard for the integrity of our votes,” said Senator Myrie. Assembly Member Paulin pointed to high profile incidents, like the Solar Winds and Colonial Pipeline hacks adding, “Although some claims have not been based on evidence, our elections are facing increased risks. It’s critical that we use voting machines which will safeguard our votes and stand up to every level of scrutiny if need be.”
Even vendors who sell hybrid voting machines have other options. Hybrids are among the most expensive voting machines on the market, and critics say that vendors are pushing counties to buy them in order to increase their profits. In Philadelphia, following the certification of one hybrid, an investigation revealed that the vendor, ES&S, did not disclose lobbying and lobbyist campaign contributions, including to the two city commissioners who selected the system. ES&S was fined 2.9 million dollars, but the city is still currently using the machine, called the ExpressVote XL.
Advocates say the bill’s passage in New York is their top priority because hybrid voting machines, including the ExpressVote XL, could be certified before the legislature meets again. “ES&S has communicated that intent to the State Board of Elections, and to me directly,” says SMART Elections Executive Director Lulu Friesdat.
The issue has also been covered by the Washington Post, who called the voting machine industry “a tech backwater,” and said that “voting machines were a cesspool of low reliability and low security, not to mention profiteering.”
Disability rights advocates are part of the coalition fighting hybrid voting machines. Voters with disabilities often use ballot-marking devices, and they are concerned that hybrid voting machines put their votes at risk and violate their privacy. Seven disability-rights groups, led by Downstate New York Adapt, listed privacy concerns as a reason for their opposition to a hybrid voting machine in January. They noted that the machine’s “skinny ballots” are a different size, and so might reveal voters’ choices.
One example of just how wrong an election on hybrid voting machines can go is a 2019 Northampton, Pennsylvania, election where the ExpressVote XL miscounted tens of thousands of votes. Subsequently, the Northampton County Election Commissioners announced a unanimous “vote of no confidence” in the ExpressVote XL.
In a letter to the New York State Board of Elections, Professor Rich DeMillo, Chair of the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy at Georgia Tech, said, “These all-in-one devices pose extraordinary risks for the voters of New York and I urge you to reject their use in favor of the secure hand-marked ballot systems currently used throughout the state.” DeMillo, along with other nationally recognized election and security experts co-signed professor Appel’s request for the legislature to pass A1115A/S309A.
New York’s hybrid-ban bill will address these issues vigorously, ensuring that New York’s election systems do not have the ability to print votes onto the ballot, including as a result of unauthorized, malicious or faulty software. Systems that have already been purchased can continue to be used, but advocates say they will work with counties to develop safer protocols, including using the voting machines as ballot-marking devices, or scanners, but not both.
The bill has additional security protections for voters. It prohibits votes from being counted with barcodes or QR codes, a safety measure already adopted by Colorado. It prohibits ballots from being printed on thermal paper, a practice experts say is risky and can allow data to fade. It bans voting machines called Direct Record Electronic or “DREs,” by requiring the “the use of an individual, durable, voter-verifiable paper ballot” in the polling place.
Counting votes with barcodes was a concern that was raised in January by thirty-three members of the New York Assembly, who sent a letter to the State Election Commissioners opposing certification of the ExpressVote XL, because, “The barcode printed on the summary card is not independently verifiable by the voter.”
The bill has over 65 co-sponsors between the two chambers. If passed, it would establish New York as one of the states leading the way in improved election security. That issue has been a partisan flashpoint following concerns in the 2020 election. But the New York hybrid-ban bill has trans-partisan support, with Democrats, Republicans and one Independent co-sponsoring.
Senator Myrie emphasized, “Our legislation would ensure the equipment purchased by county boards of election are capable of correctly tabulating our votes and limiting the possibility of error or malfeasance. I urge my legislative colleagues to pass this critical bill."
SMART Elections is part of a broad nationwide coalition of partners working to bring better voting machines to New York and other states. Coalition partners sent over 500 letters to the New York State Board of Elections and over 800 letters to New York legislators, as well as making calls to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
About SMART Elections
SMART Elections is a nonpartisan project dedicated to elevating the issue of election reform to an urgent national priority. We are collaborating to make U.S. elections more secure, accessible, accurate, and fair. To learn more, visit https://smartelections.us.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, (H.R. 1). The bill is a visionary, once-in-a-generation effort to improve the functionality, fairness, and security of U.S. elections. It will address multiple, systemic, ongoing problems in our elections. We fully support its passage. It will now move on to the U.S. Senate for consideration.
CONTACT: Lulu Friesdat, Executive Director
PRESS RELEASE
H.R. 1 Passes the House - A Big Step Forward for Election Security
Areas of interest: Election Security, Voting Technology, Disability Rights
New York City - March 4, 2021 -- Yesterday, the United State House of Representatives passed The For the People Act, (H.R. 1). The bill is a visionary, once-in-a-generation effort to improve the functionality, fairness, and security of U.S. elections. It will address multiple, systemic, ongoing problems in our elections. We fully support its passage. It will now move on to the U.S. Senate for consIderation.
"Beyond the big ticket items that have received the most attention, less well-known parts of the bill have the ability to vastly improve our election security, especially if they are slightly improved." says Lulu Friesdat, Executive Director of SMART Elections. She adds, "It's critically important to remember that what brought on the January 6th insurrection was the belief that the results were wrong. For that reason, it is as important that voters and candidates have confidence in our election results - as it is that the results be accurate. Some key provisions in H.R. 1 can help accomplish that."
The focus of the bill has been primarily on its important reforms to protect voting rights, end gerrymandering, get dark money out of politics, and increase transparency and accountability in our government.
But here are some provisions that are notable and necessary to improve election security.
Expansions in the rights of voters with disabilities.
SMART Elections has prepared a position paper on how these provisions can be strengthened even further. We believe that some of the suggested changes are urgent.
Inclusion and equal access to power are major issues addressed by H.R.1. And they are concerns that SMART Elections cares deeply about. We will be conducting a forum on Tuesday March 9th at 7pm EST on how racial inequity in our elections can be addressed by H.R. 1. Our guest will be Demos Senior Policy Analyst Shruti Banerjee.
As a non-partisan project SMART Elections understands that there are painful battles being fought right now on the rules that govern our elections. A quote from Abolitionist Minister Theodore Parker may help us through. “I do not pretend to understand the moral universe. The arc is a long one. My eye reaches but little ways ... And from what I see I am sure it bends toward justice.” (Later summarized eloquently by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.).
We applaud every step forward in our long journey toward inclusion and fairness in our democracy. This is a big one.
About SMART Elections
SMART Elections is a nonpartisan project dedicated to elevating the issue of election reform to an urgent national priority. We are collaborating to make U.S. elections more secure, accessible, accurate, and fair. To learn more, visit https://smartelections.us.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Lulu Friesdat, Executive Director
PRESS RELEASE
“Bad” Voting Machine Rejected by New York
Areas of interest: Election Security, Voting Technology, Disability Rights
New York City - February 2, 2021 -- The New York State Board of Elections unanimously rejected certification of a voting machine called the ExpressVote XL at a special late January meeting. The machine, made by ES&S, is referred to as a “hybrid” or “all-in-one” voting machine because it combines voting and tabulation in a single device. Rather than tabulating hand-marked paper ballots, the practice recommended by security experts, the ExpressVote XL generates a computer-printed summary card for each voter. The summary cards contain barcodes representing candidates’ names, and the machine tabulates votes from the barcodes. Security experts warn that the system “could change a vote for one candidate to be a vote for another candidate,” if it were hacked. Colorado, a leader in election security, has banned barcodes in voting, due to the high risk.
Professor Rich DeMillo, Chair of the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy at Georgia Tech, said, “It is encouraging that the commissioners refused to certify the ExpressVoteXL, an all-in-one ballot marking device that poses extraordinary risks for the voters of New York.” DeMillo is one of over 50 experts, good government groups and disability advocates who signed a letter opposing certification of the voting machine. Seven disability rights groups, led by Downstate New York Adapt, listed privacy concerns as a reason for their opposition. They noted the machine’s “skinny ballots” are a different size, and so might reveal voters’ choices.
New York elected officials also weighed in against the voting system. Thirty-three Assembly members sent a letter to the State Election Commissioners opposing certification, because, “The barcode printed on the summary card is not independently verifiable by the voter.”
New York law requires that voters have an opportunity both to vote privately, and to verify their votes. Arthur Schwartz, attorney for SMART Elections, says of the decision, ”I was thrilled after tangling with the Board last year over the Presidential Primary, to have the Board follow the law, not certify the ExpressVote XL, and protect rather than limit our right to vote.”
Election security experts say the machine’s most serious defect is a design flaw that combines a printer and scanner in one system with a shared paper path. This allows the summary card with the votes to pass under the printhead after it is cast by the voter. If hacked, the voting machine, “can add, delete, or change votes on individual ballots,” says Princeton Computer Science professor Andrew Appel. In an investigative series produced by SMART Elections, he called the hybrid design “a disaster", and in a blog post he said "indeed it is a bad voting machine."
During the certification process, a number of other issues were revealed about the ExpressVote XL. In public testimony, Kevin Skoglund, a cybersecurity and voting systems expert said that the system being submitted in New York “uses extremely outdated software. It runs on Windows 7, which became end-of-life a year ago.” (1:27:20)
In an example of just how wrong an election can go, the ExpressVote XL miscounted tens of thousands of votes in a 2019 Northampton, Pennsylvania election. In a post-election statement, ES&S spokesperson Adam Carbiullido noted, “The ballot showed correctly on the screen, and printed correctly on the paper ballots, but the votes were not attributed to the proper candidates on the USBs (memory sticks).” Subsequently, the “Northampton County Election Commission Board announced a unanimous … vote of no confidence in the ExpressVote XL.”
Despite these issues, the ExpressVote XL “is the most expensive voting machine on the market at $8,250 per machine,” according to Protect Our Vote Philly, a coalition of good government groups that fought the use of the ExpressVote XL in Philadelphia. Following the Philadelphia certification, an investigation revealed that ES&S did not disclose lobbying and lobbyist campaign contributions, including to the two city commissioners who selected the system. ES&S was fined 2.9 million dollars, but the city is still currently using the machine.
Conflicts of interest could be raised in connection with the ExpressVote XL in New York as well. In 2018, NY1 reported that ES&S had paid for travel, hotels and dining for New York City Board of Elections Executive Director Michael Ryan. Ryan subsequently signed a letter to the New York State Board of Elections asking to use the pricey ExpressVote XL.
In addition to Pennsylvania, the ExpressVote XL is in use in Delaware and New Jersey and certified for use in California and Texas. Dr. David Bader, another security expert who signed the coalition letter said, “New York election officials made a good call, but the fact that a voting machine with this many security issues is being marketed and sold across the country is a clear indicator that we need to carefully examine our national certification process.” Following the decision, SMART Elections Executive Director Lulu Friesdat said, "If the legislature will now pass the “hybrid-ban bill”, we can make this protection permanent. The bill has been introduced in the New York Assembly by Amy Paulin, and in the Senate by Zellnor Myrie.
SMART Elections is part of a broad nationwide coalition of partners working to bring better voting machines to New York and other states. Coalition partners sent over 500 letters to the New York State Board of Elections and over 700 letters to New York legislators, as well as making calls to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Media Notes: To schedule an interview with Lulu Friesdat, or Arthur Schwartz or to request additional information on this issue, please contact Lulu Friesdat at Lulu@SMARTelections.us. Andrew Appel and Rich DeMilllo, may be reached via their websites.
About SMART Elections
SMART Elections is a nonpartisan project dedicated to elevating the issue of election reform to an urgent national priority. We are collaborating to make U.S. elections more secure, accessible, accurate, and fair. To learn more, visit https://smartelections.us.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Lulu Friesdat, Executive Director
Lulu@SMARTelections.us
January 5, 2021
Non-partisan Project Releases Trove of Data From Presidential Election: Recommends Full Public Hand-Count Audit of Georgia Senate Race
Areas of interest: Georgia Senate Run-off, Election Protection
New York City - Jan 5, 2021 -- SMART Elections, a non-partisan election reform organization is announcing the release of data and analysis from the Presidential election in Georgia. The report, available at the project’s website CountTheVote.Info provides insight into concerns about today’s high stakes Senate run-off. The data reveals a chaotic audit and recount process that marred the Georgia presidential election.
For example, one document shows that even when running the same ballots through the same voting machines during the recount, ballot counts swung wildly by thousands of votes. Ballots were often categorized randomly, sometimes as “Election Day” votes, sometimes as “Early”. Four counties did not retain all votes accurately, and close to 6,000 additional votes were discovered that had not been counted in the original certified count. In a deep dive into the intricacies of local elections, the SMART Elections’ data team has tracked the complex path these lost votes took. The stories include forgotten memory cards, batches of half-scanned ballots and volunteer election officials tasked with too much responsibility when senior counterparts were out sick with COVID.
“The #CountTheVote data snapshot shows that election offices in Georgia did not always obey statutes or follow best practices in the presidential election,” notes Lulu Friesdat, executive director of SMART Elections. “When best practices, like reconciling the number of voters with the number of ballots are not followed, vote totals can be called into question, and confidence plummets. We must ensure an accurate count in the Senate run-off, given that control of the Senate hangs in the balance.”
SMART Elections is joining other election protection groups, in asking the Secretary of State to conduct a full, public, statewide, hand-count audit of the Senate race. Election officials have statutory discretion to ask for this. Election officials must follow best practices which include accurate ballot accounting and reconciliation, posting election night poll tapes at all precinct locations, a full hand-count audit, or a risk-limiting audit with ballots tracked correctly, and the use of standard formats like spreadsheets - not obscure software. Having totals publicly available throughout the count and providing complete public transparency creates an environment of competence that candidates and members of the public will respond to. Failure to do this will result in a continued crisis of confidence, with contention and litigation about the end result.
#CountTheVote’s first core initiative directly addresses this type of ballot tracking problem with their poll tape project. Many of the documents in the current report are part of that mission. The #CountTheVote project used a variety of new technologies in the process, and is releasing their first major report about their work today. The effort is a partnership with election protection groups across the country.
Georgia statutes require that election officials post poll tapes (also known as election night results tapes) outside each polling location. Comparing those local election night totals to results published later, ensures that results do not change, or get lost as happened in the Georgia presidential race. When counties post poll tapes, and they are photographed by the public, and monitored for accuracy - lost votes are found more easily. An incident in Cobb County during this year’s Presidential election in which lost votes were found this way, is documented in the report.
If the poll tapes and the published results match, voters and candidates can have more confidence in the results. If they don’t - it is easier to pinpoint where issues may be occurring. Many Georgia counties did follow these procedures and the SMART Elections’ comparisons demonstrate when that part of the process is completed correctly. However the project also brings to light problem areas where counties either seemed not to post poll tapes, or the available tapes did not match the results. Each county was called personally and given a chance to engage in dialogue about the discrepancies.
“Citizen oversight of elections is the hallmark of a modern democratic society. Documenting results as they are tabulated and released at the first possible moment has a long tradition in the U.S. because it is so effective.” said Marilyn Marks, Executive Director of Coalition for Good Governance.
Says Rich DeMillo, Distinguished Professor of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology, “The idea of crowdsourcing is to bring the wisdom of crowds to problems that seem too large for individuals. Election transparency is one of those problems. #CountTheVote should be an example to everyone of how a connected community can build confidence in the accuracy of election outcomes.”
The project is working with election officials to better understand the issues and improve transparency through crowd-sourced data. Volunteers will be photographing poll tapes in the Georgia Senate Run-Off and many election protection organizations are helping to support them.
SMART Elections is part of a broad coalition of partners working to ensure a fair election, including AUDIT USA, CCoHOPE, Center for Common Ground, Citizens' Audit Broward, Citizens for Voting Integrity New York, Democracy Counts, Florida Fair Elections Coalition, Michigan Election Reform Alliance, National Voting Rights Task Force, People Demanding Action, Protect Our Vote Philly, Reclaim Our Vote, SeeSay2020, and Transparent Elections North Carolina.
Media Notes: To schedule an interview with Lulu Friesdat or Rich DeMilllo, or to request additional information on this initiative, please contact Lulu Friesdat at Lulu@SMARTelections.us.
About SMART Elections and #CountTheVote
SMART Elections is a nonpartisan project dedicated to elevating the issue of election reform to an urgent national priority. We are collaborating to make U.S. elections more secure, accessible, accurate, fair, inclusive, transparent and verifiable. #CountTheVote is a groundbreaking initiative using crowdsourcing technologies to protect and verify the results of the 2020 election. To learn more, visit us at https://smartelections.us or http://countthevote.info.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 2, 2020
PRESS RELEASE
Groundbreaking Election Protection Initiative Uses Crowdsourcing and New Technologies to Document Poll Tape Election Results
Areas of interest: New Technology, Voting Rights, Election Protection
Washington, DC - Oct. 30, 2020 -- SMART Elections, a nonpartisan organization, today announced CountTheVote.info, a central hub for their #CountTheVote initiative. The project uses crowdsourcing and new technologies to document and track the exact number of votes cast at a polling location. The collaborative effort, a partnership with election protection groups across the country, encourages volunteers to take photos and video of election night poll tapes to improve the accuracy and security of the 2020 vote.
“With a contentious race looming, the goal of #CountTheVote is to gather evidence that can locate lost votes, expose hacking, or combat false allegations of fraud,” noted Lulu Friesdat, project leader and executive director of SMART Elections. "Once the polls close, election protection advocates are in a race against time to capture these images, in case they can help verify the correct outcome of the race."
In many states, at the close of voting, poll workers are required to print out a poll tape, similar to a cash register receipt, from each electronic voting machine or scanner. One copy of the poll tape is customarily posted for public view. A copy of the poll tape may be posted outside the polling place or might need to be requested from poll workers. The second copy is signed by poll workers, sealed in an envelope and sent to election headquarters. Images of poll tapes allow for a direct comparison of Election Night results to those posted later on official county and state websites. Members of the public are asked to take a photo or video of the publicly posted poll tapes and upload them so that data teams can make the comparison.
What's new this election are two technology platforms that allow the public to quickly and easily capture images of poll tapes and upload them to a central location. Democracy Counts, a coalition partner, has produced an app called “Actual Vote” that takes video of the poll tapes. Those who prefer not to use an app can use a website developed by Silicon Valley veteran Deepak Puri, another coalition partner.
The website, SeeSay2020.com allows poll tape photos to be manually uploaded and displayed on a map. Both platforms are sharing data, which will be available at CountTheVote.info.
Errors and anomalies in past election results have been discovered through poll tapes in Tennessee and Georgia. Marilyn Marks, is the executive director of Coalition for Good Governance, a #CountTheVote partner organization. She referenced their work in the Georgia midterms saying, "In 2018, as we investigated the loss of 130,000 plus votes in the Lt. Governor's race, poll tape photos helped locate the precincts where the lost votes were concentrated."
In 2015, a computer programmer named Bennie Smith took a photograph of a poll tape in Shelby County Tennessee. The poll tape showed that 548 votes had been cast at that location, a predominantly black precinct. But when the results were certified, they showed only 330 votes at that location. An investigation found at least 3 other predominantly black precincts where votes had gone missing, creating a gap of 1000 votes.
State laws on posting poll tapes and whether or not they can be photographed vary. A list of state laws on public access to poll tapes is available here.
According to a C-SPAN/Ipsos poll in the fall of 2019, "only half of Americans say they believe the vote will be conducted openly and fairly." The Hill reports this "reveals a growing mistrust in the U.S. electoral system." The goal of #CountTheVote is to increase Americans’ confidence in the voting process.
SMART Elections is part of a broad coalition of partners working to ensure a fair election, including AUDIT USA, CCoHOPE, Center for Common Ground, Citizens' Audit Broward, Citizens for Voting Integrity New York, Coalition for Good Governance, Democracy Counts, Florida Fair Elections Coalition, Michigan Election Reform Alliance, National Voting Rights Task Force, People Demanding Action, Protect Our Vote Philly, Reclaim Our Vote, SeeSay2020, and Transparent Elections North Carolina.
SMART Elections will host a virtual forum on Monday, November 2, the eve of the election, for members of the public and the press who want to know more about the #CountTheVote project. The forum will be broadcast live on YouTube and viewers can access their YouTube channel to watch previous episodes.
Media Notes: To schedule an interview with Lulu Friesdat, or coalition partners Daniel Wolf, or Deepak Puri - or to request additional information on this initiative, please contact Lulu@SMARTelections.us. Access footage, photos and more information about poll tapes here.
About SMART Elections and #CountTheVote
SMART Elections is a nonpartisan project dedicated to elevating the issue of election reform to an urgent national priority. We are collaborating to make U.S. elections more secure, accessible, accurate, fair, inclusive, transparent and verifiable. #CountTheVote is a groundbreaking initiative using crowdsourcing technologies to protect and verify the results of the 2020 election. To learn more, visit us at https://smartelections.us or http://countthevote.info.
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