Voter Protection: Be Involved
Make sure your vote counts!
Secretary of State
Bldg. 1, Suite-157K 1900 Kanawha Blvd.
Charleston, WV 25305 • (304) 558-6000
ELECTION FRAUD ATTEMPTED BY MAIL CARRIER
Mail carrier, Thomas Cooper, pleads guilty to attempted election fraud
Cooper admitted to altering eight absentee ballot requests in Pendleton County, five of the ballot requests had the political party changed from Democrat to Republican. Cooper got access to the requests through his job as a rural mail carrier. The clerk of Pendleton County noticed the marks made on the request in April and contacted state officials.
- www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/us/politics/west-Virginia-election-fraud.html
- wchstv.com/news/local/wva-rural-mail-carrier-pleads-guilty-in-voter-fraud-case
- ecf.wvnd.uscourts.gov
CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE IS CHARGED WITH VOTER FRAUD
A Morgantown City Council candidate admits to falsifying signatures on nomination petition
Thomas Aaron Metz withdrew his candidacy after being arraigned on misdemeanor voter fraud charges. Metz admitted to falsifying signatures on his nomination petition and took full responsibility for his actions in a statement. In a review of his petition, a city elections secretary found the name of a resident who had died months before the petition was turned in; further investigations found 21 of the 96 signatures were forged.
- www.wdtv.com/content/news/Former-Morgantown-City-Council-candidate-facing--566843761.html
- wvmetronews.com/2020/01/07/former-morgantown-city-council-candidate-charged-with-election-fraud/
WV VOTING SYSTEMS ARE USING OUTDATED EQUIPMENT AND SOFTWARE
Voting systems relying on outdated software and connected to the internet are at risk of being hacked
WVs´s current voting equipment is from ES&S and Democracy Live. The ES&S iVotronic/M650 system (40% counties) are old voting machines no longer considered to be secure, not EAC certified and no longer manufactured or sold by ES&S. The ES&S EVS 5.2.4.0 (60% counties) is still using end of life operating systems, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, easily hackable, without security patches.
The Democracy Live OmniBallot (60% counties) allow users to vote by internet using an online application that allows them to mark their ballots online. Besides the risk of voting on the Internet, investigators recently researched OmniBallot Online and found that attackers could change election outcomes without detection.
- verifiedvoting.org/verifier/#mode/navigate/map/ppEquip/mapType/normal/year/2020/state/54
- sos.wv.gov/elections/Documents/SECMtg/2018/SECMinutes_7-6-18.pdf
- internetpolicy.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/OmniBallot.pdf
WV ABSENTEE APPLICATION PORTAL IS VULNERABLE TO HACK
A weak authentication leaves WV voter’s name and address at risk of being altered
The WV voter information portal is an online application to apply for an absentee ballot. To access the portal, voters need to provide their last name, first name, date of birth and county. Once inside, you only need the last 4 of SSN to modify the voter name and address and choose the ballot delivery option (online, mail, fax, email). That information can be easily obtained from the state, open sources, data brokers, darknet or data breaches.
WV VOTER PORTAL EASILY ACCESSIBLE
Weak authentication exposes voter’s physical address and party affiliation
The State of West Virginia provides an online application to allow users to check their voter status. This application requires the voter’s name and date of birth. Any person with such information could then access to a voter’s residence and party affiliation. That information can be easily obtained from the state, open sources, data brokers, darknet or data breaches.
WV SECRETARY OF STATE WEBSITE IS OUT OF DATE AND HACKABLE
The WV SOS Web Server is using outdated software
The WV’s SOS online server is running on Microsoft IIS 7.5 (Windows Server 2008) that
reached end of life on January 14, 2020. Microsoft IIS 7.5 has vulnerabilities that allow a
hacker to gain access to the server or cause a denial of service.
West Virginia Constitutional Preamble
Since through Divine Providence we enjoy the blessings of civil, political and religious liberty, we, the people of West Virginia, in and through the provisions of this Constitution, reaffirm our faith in and constant reliance upon God and seek diligently to promote, preserve and perpetuate good government in the state of West Virginia for the common welfare, freedom and security of ourselves and our posterity.
