Republicans are increasingly voicing concerns about the reliability and security of electronic voting machines. These concerns, which have gained traction within the party, focus on the potential for malfunctions, hacking, and other forms of tampering that could undermine the integrity of the election.
Republicans argue that electronic voting machines, which are widely used across the country, are vulnerable to errors and cyberattacks that could alter vote totals or lead to incorrect results. “We need to ensure that every vote is accurately counted,” said a senior Republican lawmaker. “There are serious questions about the fallibility of these machines, and we can’t afford to take any chances with our democracy.”
Interestingly, these concerns are not new and have been echoed by Democrats in previous election cycles. In both the 2016 and 2020 elections, prominent Democrats raised alarms about the security of electronic voting systems. In 2016, many Democrats questioned the possibility of foreign interference and vulnerabilities in voting machines after reports of Russian attempts to meddle in the election. Similarly, in 2020, concerns about electronic voting machines resurfaced, particularly regarding the security of mail-in ballots processed through these systems.
The bipartisan nature of these concerns highlights the broader issue of election security and the need for reliable and transparent voting processes. While Republicans are currently the most vocal about these risks, the underlying worries about electronic voting systems have been a recurring theme across the political spectrum for years.
Experts in election security have long advocated for measures such as paper backups, rigorous testing of machines, and improved cybersecurity protocols to address these vulnerabilities.
According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the Biden-Harris administration’s Department of Justice has issued a warning of potential legal action against two small Wisconsin towns for their decision not to utilize electronic voting machines for voting and vote counting.
In July, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke issued a warning of potential legal action against the State of Wisconsin, the state Elections Commission, Administrator Meagan Wolfe, and the towns of Thornapple and Lawrence.
The threat came as a result of the alleged failure to provide voting equipment at polling places during the April presidential primary election.
Clarke’s letter cautioned that this failure to accommodate voters with disabilities could be in violation of the Help America Vote Act of 2002.
One of the federal mandates is that every voting system should be designed to be accessible for individuals with disabilities, ensuring nonvisual accessibility for the blind and visually impaired.
This should be done in a way that offers the same level of access and participation, including privacy and independence, as for other voters.
Voting systems used for federal elections therefore have to have “at least one direct recording electronic voting system or other voting system equipped for individuals with disabilities at each polling place,” the letter said.
The letter went on to state that federal investigators had determined that the towns had failed to make “at least one direct recording electronic voting system or other voting system equipped for individuals with disabilities available at each polling place, including during the April 2, 2024, federal primary election.”
Clark suggested that in order to steer clear of litigation, town officials should engage in negotiations with the federal government to reach a “consent decree.”
“We hope to resolve this matter amicably and to avoid protracted litigation. Accordingly, we are prepared to delay filing the complaint briefly to permit us time to negotiate a consent decree to be filed with the complaint,” she wrote.
Despite the warning, Thornapple, with a population of 8,297, allegedly conducted the August primary election using only hand-counted paper ballots. Last Spring, the Thornapple township board reportedly voted to eliminate electronic voting machines. In Wisconsin, the majority of voters use paper ballots tabulated by electronic counting machines.
Suzanne Pinnow, Thornapple’s Treasurer, has refuted claims that voters with disabilities were unable to use an accessible voting machine during the April election.
She stated to the Journal-Sentinel in May, “No one has been turned away.” Pinnow also informed Votebeat that no one in the town had been unable to vote due to the decision not to have accessible voting machines.
“I wish I could talk. I wish I could,” Pinnow said. “I wish I could because I think more people need to hear and understand and know why. But at this time, I can’t … because if it for some reason would go to litigation, I don’t want anything out there that I’m spewing this or that or saying something that I didn’t say.”
Despite the warning, Thornapple, with a population of 8,297, purportedly carried out the August primary election using exclusively hand-counted paper ballots.
The township board in Thornapple allegedly decided to do away with electronic voting machines last Spring. In Wisconsin, the majority of voters utilize paper ballots that are tallied by electronic counting machines.
Suzanne Pinnow, the Treasurer of Thornapple, has contradicted claims that voters with disabilities were unable to use an accessible voting machine during the April election.
She informed the Journal-Sentinel in May that “No one’s been turned away.” Pinnow also informed Votebeat that no one in the town had been disenfranchised due to the choice not to have accessible voting machines.
“By ceasing to use electronic voting equipment and, instead, exclusively using paper ballots completed and tabulated by hand, Respondents are no longer using voting systems that are accessible for individuals with disabilities in a manner that provides the same opportunity for access and participation (including privacy and independence) as for other voters,” the complainant, Disability Rights Wisconsin (DRW) argued.
The disability rights organization from the left side of the political spectrum has requested the Wisconsin Elections Commission to mandate Thornapple to provide accessible voting machines.
DRW Director of Legal and Advocacy Services Kit Kerschensteiner told Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) that “the goal is to ensure all town residents are able to cast private ballots in the November presidential election.”
“This is not the situation of a machine that just isn’t functioning that day at the polling place,” Kerschensteiner said. “This is a place that has chosen specifically, knowing that they were disenfranchising individuals with disabilities, and choosing to go ahead and do that, which we find to be unacceptable.”
Thornapple Town Board Supervisor Tom Zelm informed the Journal-Sentinel in May that the voting machine withdrawal was approved in June 2023.
According to town voter and Rusk County Democratic Party chair Erin Webster, she suspected that the decision was influenced by former President and current GOP nominee Donald Trump’s allegations of a fraudulent 2020 presidential election.
Webster posted on YouTube a recording of her phone call with town Supervisor Jack Zupan, in which he said the board believes that “there was a stolen election and the computers have to go because they are full of error.”
“There are court cases right now that show that anybody can hack into and manipulate that machine within a matter of just a couple of minutes,” Zupan added.
“Oh, so you’re also a conspiracy believer!” Webster retorted.
But it’s true that there are court cases have been examining these claims. In the Colorado Vs. Tina Peters case, for instance, “nationally recognized computer cybersecurity experts” who examined forensic images from the hard drives of Dominion voting systems computers independently concluded:
Dominion voting systems (1) are not auditable, as required by federal and state law (2) they can connect to the internet during elections, which violates federal and state law; and (3) they are capable of manipulating ballots and vote tabulations, which violates federal and state law; (4) the software overwrites Windows Operating System log files that are recorded during elections, which are required by federal and state law to be preserved. All these deficiencies make Dominion voting systems illegal to use in Colorado elections.
Indeed, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released a 2020 report detailing the security and vulnerabilities of “Election Infrastructure” nationwide prior to that year’s election.
This infrastructure encompasses voter registration databases, IT systems, voting machines and systems, as well as software utilized for casting votes.
According to CISA:
• 76% of EI entities for which CISA performed a Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (RVA) had spearphishing weaknesses, which provide an entry point for adversaries to launch
attacks;
• 48% of entities had a critical or high severity vulnerability on at least one internetaccessible host,4 providing potential attack vectors to adversaries;
• 39% of entities ran at least one risky service on an internet-accessible host, providing the opportunity for threat actors to attack otherwise legitimate services; and
• 34% of entities ran unsupported operating systems (OSs) on at least one internet accessible host, which exposes entities to compromise.
CISA said election entities could “significantly reduce their cybersecurity risk by performing additional investigation and analysis of the findings described in this report. CISA encourages entities to implement standard cyber hygiene practices and applicable mitigations identified in this report to reduce their exposure.”
