Voter Protection: Be Involved
Make sure your vote counts!
Secretary of State
Herschler Bldg East, 122 West 25th St., Suite 100,
Cheyenne, WY 82002 • (307) 777-7378
ES&S VOTING SYSTEM VERSION USED IN WYOMING REMAIN A MYSTERY
Wyoming’s current statewide voting equipment is manufactured by ES&S. There has been no public disclosure of the exact version to be used in November since a new contract was awarded to ES&S in March 2020. It is believed the state is using either EVS 6.0.4.0 or EVS 6.0.4.3.
WYOMING VOTING SYSTEMS USING OUT-OF-DATE SOFTWARE
Out-of-date software is unprotected and vulnerable to security risks
The State of Wyoming purchased new voting equipment in March 2020 from ES&S. The voting equipment, which cost roughly $5 million, included a specific model of a printer (C712) and Windows 7 Enterprise Operating System. Considering these two factors, the Voting System purchased could be either EVS 6.0.4.0 or the newer EVS 6.0.4.3.
In either case, both use end-of-cycle software (Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2) that no longer receive security patches and are vulnerable to a hack as they are no longer supported by Microsoft.
- support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4467761/windows-what-happens-when-windows-7-support-ends
- www.microsoft.com/en-us/cloud-platform/windows-server-2008#:~:text=Support%20for%20Windows%20Server%202008,infrastructure%20and%20applications%20go%20unprotected
WYOMING VOTING MACHINE BARCODES HACKABLE
Other states have outlawed the use of barcodes in pursuit of election integrity and due to their vulnerability to hacking
One of the voting machines purchased by Wyoming is ExpressVote, which is a ballot-marking device. 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.
- 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
NEW VOTING MACHINES SLOW DOWN REPORTING RESULTS
Results from voting machines are returned by USB drive causing delays in reporting
The Secretary of State’s Office switched all counties over to using a DS200 election system. Older voting machines would send election information through phone lines, and the new system stores information of a USB drive that is then transported from a polling location to the Courthouse. The USB drive transportation slows down how quickly results can be tallied and offers another point of access to voter information from bad actors.
Wyoming Constitution Preamble
All power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, safety and happiness; for the advancement of these ends they have at all times an inalienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform or abolish the government in such manner as they may think proper.
