The Express Vote XL voting system is the subject of two lawsuits in both federal (E.D. Pa. 2016-6287) and state (Commw. Ct. 674 MD 2019) courts. Both challenges, filed just days ago, seek a ban on the continued use of The ExpressVote XL voting system. Three counties - Philadelphia, Northampton and Cumberland - intend to use this hybrid voting machine in the 202 Presidential Primary. A Brief filed in federal court yesterday by machine manufacturer ES&S (Electronic Systems & Software) argues such a result would throw that election into "complete chaos." It could disenfranchise the 1.2 million registered voters in these three counties.
ES&S serves approximately 3,000 of the nation’s more than 10,000 voting jurisdictions. It is 100% American-owned and, over thirty years, has grown into the industry leader with voting-machine solutions for each phase of an election. ES&S notes The ExpressVote XL is one of the voting systems certified by the Federal Election Assistance Commission. It has been certified twice by Pennsylvania's department of State. It also has been state certified in California, Delaware, Mississippi, New Jersey and Texas.
In Philadelphia, the first County to purchase this system, ES&S notes there were 827 public demonstrations of the ExpressVote XL between June 2019 and October 2019, and more than 100 poll worker trainings throughout the City. In Northampton County, I can add there were at least 20 public demonstration and five training sessions for elections workers. In Philly, a pilot election was conducted in August 2019 involving 80 ExpressVote XLs across the City of Philadelphia and more than 100 Board of Elections employees. (Unfortunately, this did not happen in NorCo and should before the Spring primary).
Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar has affirmed with ES&S that it is simply “too late for Counties to replace ExpressVote XL machines in time for the 2020 primary, which will be held on April 28, 2020.” That is apparent given the fact that “[t]he ballot for an election is finalized roughly 50 days before the election.” For the April primaries, the ballot will need to be finalized around March 9, 2020 – less than three months from now. ES&S argues that unfounded assertions must give way to the considered judgment of Secretary Boockvar and the Pennsylvania Department of State.
Failed Presidential candidate Jill Stein speculates it is “feasible for malware to cause the machines to print bar codes that corresponded to candidates the voter did not select.” ES&S disagrees. "There is absolutely no record that any of the kind of hypothetical malicious cybersecurity breaches Plaintiffs describe have ever taken place, either in actual elections or in testing of the ExpressVote XL," it asserts. In addition, it observes its system has no connection to the Internet.
10 comments:
I deleted an anonymous comment, twice, accusing me of some mistake, erroneously, and offering nothing on the topic itself.
Comments like these are from someone who just dislikes me and has no interest in the subject.
I question the motivations behind this. Is there some backroom deal by a competitor? Some group sowing chaos in hopes of delaying or invalidating the election? Sorry but things don't happen in a vacuum. Ehical moral people are in short supply these days.
I assume they have the best intentions, but like you, I do wonder a bit whether competing companies are behind some of these attacks. Would like to know who is paying the lawyers.
Why, in a time when there is so much concern about vulnerability to hacking by outside agencies or countries, would this county select a machine that is this problematic?
And to be clear, although the county's representatives consistently state that the paper ballot clearly shows the voter's intent, it absolutely does not.
It "translates" the voter's selections into a bar code, and THAT is what is tablulated.
I don't understand the selection of this model, from this company, in the first place, and I certainly don't understand their stubborn resistance to looking at alternatives that far less problematic.
Machine parts Made in Manila..owned and assembled in U.S in Omaha, Nebraska. Fact check
The steel ran all them years with machinery from the 1800's of the industrial revolution. Maybe they should find themselves one of them Pennsylvania Dutchmen that kept the machinery running?
Life is like a box of chocolates, the Dems the gift that keeps giving?
Council was warned about this company and this voting machine in particular. The board of elections is supposed to select the machine..not have it spoon fed to them by the administration. The law suit has merit and council did a disservice to the voters by buying a pig in a poke. The State mandate was an over reach but now we are stuck with machines that have serious internal issues. Punch cards would be better than this piece of electronic trash.
For one thing, the ExpressVote XL has only existed for two years. Yet idiots like Bob Werner were making wild and irresponsible accusations based on other systems. In short, the warnings were nonsense. As for ES&S, I was disgusted by the insinuations that Council members or the administration were bought off. Although voting machine vendors have flown county officials from other counties to Omaha to look at systems, that's not exactly like a trip to Florida. Also long before the purchase, county officials were questioned and specifically denied any gifts from ES&S. I wrote about all of this long ago. To see it brought up now tells me those asking these questions are bringing it up for political effect. They want McClure defeated in the next election, and are using the voting machines to muddy him up. These are the same people (Republicans) who voted for the machines about which they now complain.
Lee and Maude, stop being hypocrites.
Plenty of blame here..not targeting any one person. I just want a voting system we can have complete confidence in. I believe we had a fine one up until this lunacy began and we were forced into a corner by a partially funded mandate. The whole thing stinks to high heaven. Absentee ballots will swamp the county if this stands. Will they be able to handle such an event? I doubt it.
McClure and his rubber stamp county Council must go. They have been covering his ass because they are afraid of him, We need leaders. Council needs to man up or just leave.
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