ES&S: Decertification of Express Vote XL Would Result in "Complete Chaos"

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.