😳ES&S’s ExpressVote voting system reportedly has an integrated zebra technologies barcode reader whose “operation can be modified by scanning configuration barcodes,” which can “reconfigure which types of barcodes the scanner reads,” & “how it reads...&..processes them.” 1/
2/ “They could cause the barcode scanner to stop tabulating ExpressVote barcodes or to tabulate them incorrectly. They can even be used to allow sending unintended data & keyboard commands to the voting system.”
3/ “A set of carefully constructed keyboard commands could be used to manipulate the voting system software.”
4/ This is a serious problem because, with the ExpressVote, the only part of the paper record counted as your vote is the barcode....
5/ Although there is human readable text beneath the barcode, a recent study showed that voters miss 93% of inaccuracies in that text. This is an invitation to fraud, especially for down ballot races, such as for state legislature.
7/ As I explain here, the US rarely conducts robust manual audits anyway. This must change. nybooks.com/daily/2020/10/…
8/ “America’s preeminent election-auditing expert, Philip Stark...told me...that ‘only a few jurisdictions currently audit elections in a way that has a good chance of catching & correcting wrong reported outcomes...[E]ven those states only audit a few contests in each election.”
9/ Link to screenshot in post 1. It was election security expert @kskoglund who identified the concern about the zebra barcode reader. The ExpressVote XL apparently doesn’t have it, but ESS acknowledged that the ExpressVote does. elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/hava/Vo…
11/ Verified Voting’s verifier tool shows which jurisdictions used ES&S ExpressVote voting systems in 2020. The ones in yellow used it for all or most in person voting. The ones in green used it primarily for ADA use. verifiedvoting.org/verifier/
12/ I don’t know if all versions of the ExpressVote use the Zebra barcode reader.
13/ It appears that much of Texas and all of Arkansas and SC used the ExpressVote as a primary voting system. The largest county in Kansas, Johnson County, did too.
14/ Much of West Virginia and Ohio too.
15/ More from post 1 report: “These configuration barcode are not secret...They cld cause the barcode scanner to stop tabulating ExpressVote barcodes or to tabulate them incorrectly. They can even be used to allow sending unintended data & keyboard commands to the voting system.”
16/ “A set of carefully constructed keyboard commands could be used to manipulate the voting system software.”
The kicker: “A ballot card pre-printed with configuration barcodes could be submitted by any voter while inside the privacy of the voting booth.” 😳
Like a Russian troll farm, “a group of young conservatives,” some of them minors, was “paid to post misinformation” before the 2020 election. Their support came from Turning Point USA, @charliekirk11’s non-profit political organization. - 9/25/20 wbur.org/hereandnow/202…
“A troll farm indicates ‘a degree of coordination’ in order to intentionally spread false information...For example, these posters would troll people on social media such as journalists, all posting the same message in order to drive up engagement....1/
.... and thus using the social media platform’s algorithm to make their misinformation seem more popular than it likely was, he says.” 2/
“‘As many advocates have warned, this machine [ESS’s ExpressVote XL] is highly problematic: it ....has malfunctioned in other states in recent elections, & ...cannot even print non-English ballots,’ Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz (D-Queens) said...” 1/ nydailynews.com/news/politics/…
2/ “Susan Greenhalgh, senior advisor on election security with advocacy group Free Speech For People, said there are major concerns regarding safety since ES&S still uses Windows 7 as its operating software despite vowing to upgrade the machines.” @SEGreenhalgh
BREAKING: I’m told that the NY state election board will NOT certify ES&S’s ExpressVote XL barcode touchscreen voting machine today due 2 issues in the test report: (1) The activation cards prints only in English (wtf?! why?!) (2) A visibility issue w/ the paper voter record. 1/
I imagine ES&S will have an opportunity to rectify these issues and resubmit. We should follow this closely bc experts have other concerns with this type of voting machine. 2/ liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/el…
It’s also the type of voting machine that melted down in Northampton County, PA last year. 3/ witf.org/2019/12/20/nor…
.@CharlieKirk11’s “Turning Point Action was listed as a participant in [the] ... rally, which preceded the attack on Capitol Hill. Prior to the rally, in a tweet he later deleted, Kirk said the group wld be involved w/ sending over 80 buses...” 1/ cnbc.com/2021/01/13/dar…
2/ “CNBC captured a screenshot of tweet before it was deleted.
Kirk recently said on his podcast that those from Turning Point got back on their buses & left following the conclusion of the rally.”
IMO, the #SAFEAct is better on election security than HR1 bc it wld ban most touchscreen voting machines currently available. HR1 wld allow them as a primary in person system bc vendors call the paper they spit out a “paper ballot.” Pen & paper is safer #HandMarkedPaperBallots 1/
I have not looked at other aspects of HR1. It addresses more than election security. The #SAFEAct shld be the starting point for election security reform in my opinion. 2/
HR1 requires that all voters have the option to mark their ballots by hand. But it does not specify that, for jurisdictions with in person voting, the hand marked (pen & paper) option must be available for in person voting (vs it only being an option w/ vote by mail). 3/
It is fitting that Louie Gohmert voted AGAINST making lynching a federal crime and then proceeded to help incite an attempted lynching of elected officials at the US Capitol. 1/