Voter Protection: Be Involved
Make sure your vote counts!
Secretary of State
1100 Congress Ave. • Austin, TX 78701
(512) 463-5770
EDINBURG MAYOR FACING VOTER FRAUD CHARGES WITH 22 OTHERS
Mayor Ricardo Molina is facing charges of illegally registering people who live outside the city to vote
Mayor Molina is one of 23 people suspected of participating in a voting scheme to register people who live outside Edinburg's city to register in Edinburg to vote. It is illegal to help someone vote if they do not qualify by being 65 years or older or are disabled. Molina’s jury trial was postponed in June due to the COVID-19 pandemic; a new trial date was not set.
- pjmedia.com/election/bryan-preston/2020/09/28/bidens-texas-political-director-other-democrats-accused-in-illegal-ballot-harvesting-scheme-n983458
- texasscorecard.com/local/new-voter-fraud-allegations-crop-up-in-south-texas/
- www.themonitor.com/2020/05/14/edinburg-mayors-voter-fraud-trial-faces-another-delay/
- pa.co.hidalgo.tx.us/CaseDetail.aspx?CaseID=3924062
34 PEOPLE CONVICTED OF SAME VOTER FRAUD CHARGE SINCE 2005
Thirty-four people have been convicted of fraudulent use of absentee ballots since 2005.
The fraudulent use of absentee ballots consists of requesting absentee ballots and voting without knowing the actual voter, obtaining the absentee ballot from a voter, filling it in directly, and forging the voter’s signature illegally telling the voter whom to vote for. In 2019, a homeless man was convicted of forging a signature on a ballot. The forging of signatures is so common a complaint was filed with the Texas AG after the Harris County’s 2018 Democrat primary.
- www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/docs/pacei-voterfraudcases.pdf
- www.star-telegram.com/news/local/fort-worth/article229325459.html
- texasscorecard.com/local/texas-ag-launches-mail-ballot-voter-fraud-probe-in-harris-county/
- s29017.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Harris-County-SOS-Complaint-Vera-4-15-20.pdf
TEXAS LEAKING VOTERS PRIVATE INFORMATION
Voter’s home address open to public by weak login requirements
Texas Counties provide an online application to allow users to check their voter status. This application requires only a voter’s name, last name and date of birth to access it. Any person with such information could then access a voter’s home address.
- www.dallascountyvotes.org/voter-lookup/#VoterEligibilitySearch
- gisit.tarrantcounty.com/TCVL/
- www.votedenton.com/voter-lookup/#VoterEligibilitySearch
TEXAS VOTER DATABASE SOLD ON HACKING FORUMS
Keeping voter’s data safe is crucial for election integrity
In December 2015, voter’s database for many states were leaked online and shared wide. They contained lots of private information. Hackers were able to leak 657,000 of Texas voter’s data.
Also, in 2018, a hacker found a single file containing an estimated of 14.8 million records of Texas registered voters that was left insecure on a server without password. Compromised data included several years’ worth of voting history, including primaries and presidential elections.
TEXAS VOTING SYSTEMS ARE OLD, CONTAIN BUGS AND ARE AT RISK OF BEING HACKED
It is essential equipment is kept up to date or it becomes open to attacks from a hacker
Although Texas is certifying the latest Voting Systems on the market, its Counties are using the same ones for a decade or more.
27 Counties use old and hackable Unity 3.0.1.1 Voting System, that was last officially certified in 2008 and was discontinued in 2011 by Unity 3.2.1.0. Its components (AutoMARK, M100 and M650) have been easily tampered with by hackers and its software, last updated around 2007, lacks crucial security patches. Also, 46 Counties use Hart’s 6.2.1 Voting System and its components (eSlate, eScan, JBC) that have a long history of bugs.
Finally, the vast majority of Counties, if not all, use Voting Systems with outdated software, such as Windows 7, that is no longer supported by Microsoft.
- www.sos.texas.gov/elections/forms/sysexam/voting-sys-bycounty.pdf
- docplayer.net/9857229-Public-report-red-team-testing-of-the-es-s-unity-3-0-1-1-voting-system-freeman-craft-mcgregor-group-fcmg-red-team.html
- www.vice.com/en_us/article/negayg/texas-voting-machines-have-been-a-known-problem-for-a-decade
- media.defcon.org/DEF%20CON%2027/voting-village-report-defcon27.pdf
- www.nytimes.com/2020/09/27/technology/2020-election-security-threats.html
TEXAS HAS NO PAPER AUDIT TRAIL REQUIREMENT
Voting machines in at least 46 Counties lack a Voter-verified paper audit trail
Texas lacks a statutory paper trail requirement and for many years voting machines haven’t produced voter-verified paper audit trails (VVPAT). Some Counties have been switching to newer systems and hence newer voting machines that produce VVPAT. However, those that are still using the same voting machines for more than a decade, such as eSlates, still won’t produce auditable paper records for General Elections.
VVPAT is a step toward election integrity as it allows voters to verify their choices before casting their ballot and makes it easier to detect election fraud or malfunctioning of voting systems.
Texas Constitutional Preamble
Humbly invoking the blessings of Almighty God, the people of the State of Texas, do ordain and establish this Constitution.
