Voter Protection: Be Involved
Make sure your vote counts!
Secretary of State
PO Box 7848 • Madison, WI 53707-7848
(608) 266-8888
WI VOTING EQUIPMENT IS OLD, INSECURE AND CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET
WI voting systems lack federal certification and are at risk of attack by hackers
Wisconsin Counties widely use ES&S voting systems. In 2014 and 2017 Wisconsin certified four voting systems of which two (5.3.0.0 & 5.3.2.0) lack EAC certification since their tabulators (DS200) have a built-in cellular modem. Also, the four voting systems (5.2.0.0 & 5.2.2.0) and (5.3.0.0 & 5.3.2.0) use end-of-cycle software (Windows 7 and Microsoft Server 2008 R2) that are a security risk since Microsoft is no longer providing support.
Another voting system used in Wisconsin Counties is Democracy Suite 4.14-D & Democracy Suite 4.14-DS, both certified in June 2015. Similar to the above, 4.14-DS is a modification to the EAC-certified 4.14-D. 4.14-DS isn’t federally certified since its tabulators (ICE) have a built-in cellular modem. Both use the same outdated software (Windows 7 and Microsoft Server 2008 R2) as above.
Finally, some municipalities still use voting equipment from defunct vendor Sequoia Voting. These machines (AVC Edge & Optech Insight), about two decades old, have been reported to have serious vulnerabilities since 2007.
- elections.wi.gov/sites/elections.wi.gov/files/memo/20/evs_5200_5300_board_memo_final_pdf_45934.pdf
- elections.wi.gov/sites/elections.wi.gov/files/page/evs_5220_5320_commission_memo_pdf_96763.pdf
- elections.wi.gov/sites/elections.wi.gov/files/page/65/democracy_suite_4_14_d_and_4_14_ds_board_memo_pdf_14064.pdf
- votingsystems.cdn.sos.ca.gov/oversight/ttbr/red-sequoia.pdf
WI DATABASE LEAKING VOTERS PRIVATE DATA
Weak login methods expose any voter’s physical address and absentee status
The State of Wisconsin provides 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 residence address, 10-year voting history and know if a voter has requested an absentee ballot and its status.
WI VOTING MACHINE BARCODES HACKABLE
Other states have outlawed the use of barcodes in pursuit of election integrity and due to their vulnerability to being hacked
One of the voting machines used in Wisconsin is ExpressVote, a ballot-marking device from ES&S, In order to tabulate the votes, ExpressVote produces a not human-readable barcode that makes it impossible for a voter to know what information is stored on it. ExpressVote has known vulnerabilities that were exposed by Cyber Security Company, ATSEC. They showed how bad actors could read and modify files, recover passwords and execute arbitrary code to access the system.
Many States are moving forward to ban these type of voting machines. Colorado was the first State to ban barcodes for tabulating votes, and other States, such as North Carolina, are in the process of decertifying the ExpressVote / ExpressVote XL.
- elections.wi.gov/sites/elections.wi.gov/files/page/evs_5220_5320_commission_memo_pdf_96763.pdf
- pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2020/04/15/voting-rights-advocates-sue-over-expressvote-machines-want-hand-marked-paper-ballots-for-upcoming-election/
- assets.documentcloud.org/documents/6838875/NC-Voting-Machine-Complaint-FINAL.pdf
- securiosa.com/posts/how_expressvote_barcodes_could_be_modified.html
- www.cnn.com/2019/09/16/politics/colorado-qr-codes-votes/index.html
REJECTED ABSENTEE BALLOTS EQUAL TO MARGIN OF VICTORY
23,000 rejected absentee ballots in the primary equaling Trump’s margin of victory in 2016
In 2016 Trump won Wisconsin by a margin of 22,748 votes, and in the primary race that occurred in April, 23,000 ballots were rejected. Most of these ballots were thrown out because the voter or the witness did complete filling out the return ballot envelope. Since 2000 there have been three elections that have been decided by a percentage point.
Wisconsin Constitutional Preamble
We, the people of Wisconsin, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings, form a more perfect government, insure domestic tranquility and promote the general welfare, do establish this constitution.
