Thread by @SMART_elections

Thread 1. Lawsuit being filed in #Florida today to force #election officials to preserve digital images of #ballots. Digital ballot images are photos of the ballot made when the ballot is scanned. New generation scanners create these images automatically.
drive.google.com/file/d/1yekUWk…

2. Fun Fact: Scanners don't count the paper ballot. They take a photo (the digital ballot image) & count info from that photo. So the digital ballot image is part of the chain of custody of the vote & must be preserved. Courts in AZ confirmed this. This is a digital ballot image.

3. Digital ballot images can be manipulated. This was demonstrated at a 2019 @defcon @VotingVillageDC talk by Kart Kandula & Jeremy Wink, students at @UMich. Because of this it's important to use the original paper ballot for all official audits.
media.defcon.org/DEF%20CON%2027… p. 36

4. Experts say to use the original paper ballot for official audits but #DigitalBallotImages can still be useful. They can allow voters & candidates to independently verify results either increasing confidence or helping to identify races that require more scrutiny. #Election2020

5. In order for #DigitalBallotImages to be useful they need
- meticulous chain of custody
- to immediately receive a security hash that will indicate if they change
- to be stamped w/ a unique identifying number tying them to a paper ballot
- to be online prior to certification

6. Ray Lutz is the lead developer in the "AuditEngine" project. #AuditEngine is a system he's developing to count digital ballot images quickly. He is an expert witness in the lawsuit.
drive.google.com/file/d/1qohjXx…

7. In #SMARTelections' list of best practices for #Election2020 we say, "Require that jurisdictions make the data created by any computer or voting system used in an election available to the public" this would include #DigitalBallotImages smartelections.us/public-oversig…

8. Some jurisdictions are already putting #DigitalBallotImages online. Dane County #Wisconsin has the 2019 images online here. countyofdane.sharefile.com/share/view/s5d…

I was unable to find digital ballot images for 2020 & unable to reach the clerk or the specialist in Dane County.

9. Many states are blocking the public from looking at digital ballot images. In #NewYork a court ruled that they were subject to public records requests, but the NY Court of Appeals overturned that decision & New York voters cannot see digital ballot images currently.

10. Here is an article about the original decision to allow the public to see #DigitalBallotImages in #NewYork whowhatwhy.org/2018/04/30/win…

11. Here is the #NewYork appeals court order forbidding anyone to view #DigitalBallotImages without a court order. drive.google.com/file/d/19MVnYe…

12. Douglas Kellner a NY State co-chair and #Election Commissioner said at the time, "I was very disappointed to read today’s 4-3 decision ... that electronic copies of ballot images can be reviewed only by court order and are exempt from Freedom of Information Law requests."

13. Kellner, the co-chair & state election commissioner continued, "Public access to the ballot images and cast vote records imposes very little burden on election administrators, while improving public confidence in the transparency & verifiability of the vote counting process."

14. Remember to register for our #ElectionSecurity Forum on July 6th at 7pm. It's open to all & free. We'll be discussing how to make sure your vote counts in #Election2020.
eventbrite.com/e/online-elect…