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    Big equipment maker threatens critics as doubts mount about electronic voting

    Alison Greene, DC Report @ Raw Story
    January 27, 2021

    Thanks for your support!

    This article was paid for by reader donations to Raw Story Investigates.

    Civil rights groups denounce Georgia officials for closing early voting sites ahead of senate runoffs
    Voters (Shutterstock)

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    Alison Greene, DC Report @ Raw Story

    Lawyers for the nation's largest manufacturer of electronic voting equipment are trying to squash legitimate criticism of their products—including one machine that was responsible for a 26,000-vote miscount and threw a one local election in Pennsylvania into doubt.

    A Wall Street law firm representing Election Systems & Software LLC of Omaha, Neb., has sent a cease and desist letter to election reform advocacy group SMART Elections demanding that it "retract and correct" its criticism of the ES&S ExpressVote XL touch-screen voting machines—especially the group's effort to persuade the New York State Board of Election from certifying the machines for using in elections there. The state board is scheduled to take up the matter today (Jan. 28).

    ES&S has a pattern of using legal tactics to intimidate its opposition.

    "ES&S will not hesitate to hold each of you and others who are responsible for the dissemination of these false and defamatory accusations, personally and individually liable," ES&S attorney Alan S. Lewis wrote the officers of SMART Elections on Jan. 4.

    "We demand that you immediately cease such conduct," Lewis concluded, "and retract and correct your previous statements by prominently posting corrections to your website and emailing all of those to whom you have previously sent emails regarding ES&S and the ExpressVote XL. ES&S is prepared to pursue all remedies in law and equity."

    Like many corporate giants, ES&S has a pattern of using legal tactics to intimidate its opposition. But unlike Republican critics who have leveled unfounded accusations against other voting-equipment makers, critics of ES&S machines have considerable facts on their side.

    'Bad Machine'

    Princeton University Professor of Computer Science Andrew Appel says security concerns surrounding the ES&S machine are well-founded: "The ExpressVote XL, if adopted, will deteriorate our security and our ability to have confidence in our elections, and indeed it is a bad voting machine." Appel was co-author of an authoritative study of electronic voting that was published last year.

    ES&S previously defended their litigious approach, claiming they sue in order to keep competitors honest. But the company has a history of legally threatening election-reform groups and governments choosing not to buy their equipment.

    As DCReport reported, experts warn that so-called ballot marking devices (BMDs) force voters to use technology to mark their ballots, potentially compromising election results. The ExpressVote XL uses a 32-inch touch screen to register votes and produces a paper record for the voter. The company says the machine "maintains the highest levels of physical and digital security controls. It provides voter confidence with on-screen, printed and audio playback options for vote selection verification."

    Pennsylvania Fiasco

    None of which worked so well on Election Day 2019, when brand new ExpressVote XL machines registered just 164 votes—out of 55,000 cast in 100 precincts—for Democrat Abe Kassis in his run for a Northampton County, Pa., judgeship. The electronic vote tabulations didn't match the paper backup ballots, not even close. Hand counting of the backup ballots revealed Kassis actually received 26,142 votes and was the winner.

    "The touch screens on these new machines are garbage," Paul Saunders, a judge of elections in Hanover Township, emailed the county less than an hour after voting began that day, citing difficulties voters were having.

    Following the problematic Pennsylvania election, a joint news conference was held where ES&S acknowledged responsibility for the issues. ES&S Senior Vice President of Product Development Adam Carbullido blamed "human error" and said the company took "full responsibility" for the electoral fiasco: "ES&S staff did not provide the proper guidance and scrutiny during the pre-election … testing."

    The county officials said they were "deeply, deeply disappointed, and at some points angry with the performance of the XL on Election Day."

    Yet, ES&S lawyers didn't seem to consider statements from Northampton officials or their own management when they threatened SMART Elections and its officers with litigation: "The allegations you … have made and continue to make about ES&S and the ExpressVote XL are utterly false and unsupported. These allegations are very serious and have harmed ES&S and threaten to interfere with the ExpressVote XL's certification for use in elections in New York State."

    Hacking Machines

    However, experts are clear that SMART Elections is "basing their journalism and advocacy on good science." Princeton's Appel, one of the authors of the study "Ballot Marking Devices (BMD's) Cannot Assure the Will of the Voters" disputes the ES&S lawyers: "The ExpressVote XL, if hacked, can add, delete or change votes on individual ballots—and no voting machine is immune from hacking."

    ES&S lawyers also imply that other states certifying the machines is confirmation they are safe and secure claiming "ES&S's voting systems, has undergone stringent testing and been certified by multiple states."

    However, as DCReport recently highlighted in Texas, the certification process is not foolproof. And Texas wasn't the only state with lax certification procedures.

    South Carolina Signs On

    When South Carolina upgraded its machines, SMART Elections advisory board member and University of South Carolina Computer Science Prof. Duncan Buell tried sharing his knowledge of the state's problematic history with ES&S.

    Dr. Buell's concerns came after finding flaws with the code that led to votes being counted more than once, ignored or tallied incorrectly. After being scheduled to speak to the selection committee Dr. Buell was bumped from the agenda. South Carolina proceeded to purchase $51 million worth of new ES&S machines ahead of the 2020 election without hearing his expert testimony.

    Despite this ES&S's lawyers' demands, SMART Elections' own lawyers did not mince words in their response to ES&S's attorneys: "You should know quite well that anyone, even an aggressive company like Election Systems & Software cannot sue someone for expressing an opinion."

    They conclude their letter with a reference to the Trump-led Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol in Washington: "Set in the context of the shameful actions last week in our nation's capital, your effort to intimidate opponents, in order to win a vote at the Board of Elections, is disgraceful."

    This article was paid for by Raw Story subscribers. Not a subscriber? Try us and go ad-free for $1. Prefer to give a one-time tip? Click here.

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    Report typos and corrections to: corrections@rawstory.com.
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    Justice Department says more than 300 people charged to date over Capitol riots

    Reuters
    February 26, 2021

    By Sarah N. Lynch and Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department has charged more than 300 people with taking part in the deadly storming of the Capitol by former President Donald Trump's supporters, and at least 280 have been arrested, Acting Deputy Attorney General John Carlin told reporters on Friday. "The investigation into those responsible is moving at a speed and scale that's unprecedented, and rightly so," he said. "Those responsible must be held to account, and they will be." His comments came just one day after Capitol Police Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman told...

    Donald Trump Jr. bizarrely boasts about his father's conduct after the 2020 election

    Meaghan Ellis, AlterNet
    February 26, 2021

    Don Trump, Jr. recently expressed a sense of pride about his father's unwillingness to accept the unfavorable outcome of the presidential election.

    During a recent appearance on Fox News, Trump Jr. spoke with Sean Hannity where he offered a bizarre analysis of his father's defeat. He claims that his father showed the world that presidential candidates do not have to "lose gracefully.He went on to slam his father's political party as he noted that there appeared to be "an absence of 'natural push-back,' among apparently spineless Republicans who in fact spent months (with few exceptions) defending his father's false claims and baseless conspiracies about a stolen election that culminated in violence," according to Talking Points Memo.

    "The Republicans aren't willing to do it. They've shown that over the decades. They'd just rather lose gracefully, I guess," Trump Jr. told Hannity, adding, "Donald Trump has shown that you don't have to do that."

    In the wake of Trump's acquittal following his Senate trial over accusations that he incited the insurrection on the U.S. Capitol, Trump Jr. appeared to boast about his father's efforts to challenge the foundation of America's democracy. He believes the message his father sent is that "you can actually push back" although it is not "an easy fight."

    He went on to express arguments about the alleged double standard Republicans are faced within the United States. According to Trump Jr., the media and mainstream tech companies are "doing whatever they can to destroy the Republican party."

    "We don't have a level playing field," he said. "Until we have more people that willing to step up and tell the truth and speak to the American people, we're a little bit at a loss and it's ridiculous."

    Trump Jr.'s remarks came just days before Trump's upcoming appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

    While Trump's future political plans remain uncertain, Trump Jr. suggested that his father's influence on the Republican Party will have lasting impacts for years to come. He said, "If you're reading the room and you're intelligent, you realize that Donald Trump is still the future of the Republican Party."

    WATCH: Matt Gaetz’s Potato Head joke flops at CPAC

    Bob Brigham
    February 26, 2021

    Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) pushed the culture wars during his Friday address to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida.

    As Gaetz took the stage, he made a joke about not receiving such a warm welcome since he traveled to Wyoming to campaign against Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) after she voted to impeach Donald Trump for inciting the fatal January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

    He then complained about the backlash the Republicans have been receiving since the majority of the party joined with the insurrectionists and voted to overturn the 2020 election.

    "Many Fortune 100 companies will not donate to pro-Trump Republicans," he complained. "Some have even pulled their sponsorships of this conference. American business should be worried about business, not wokeism."

    He then complained about cancel culture.

    "Look out, Mr. Potato Head, you're next. "I'm sorry, I think now he's going by Potato-x. Can't be Mr. Potato Head -- see to me, the whole concept of the Mr. Potato Head was you could move the parts around, I mean, Mr. Potato Head was America's first transgender doll and even he got canceled," Gaetz said to a smattering of polite applause.

    Watch:

    2 26 2021 14 05 58 www.youtube.com

     
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