😳ES&S’s ExpressVote voting system reportedly has an integrated zebra technologies barcode reader whose “operation can be modified by scanning configuration barcodes,” which can “reconfigure which types of barcodes the scanner reads,” & “how it reads...&..processes them.” 1/

2/ “They could cause the barcode scanner to stop tabulating ExpressVote barcodes or to tabulate them incorrectly. They can even be used to allow sending unintended data & keyboard commands to the voting system.”
3/ “A set of carefully constructed keyboard commands could be used to manipulate the voting system software.”
4/ This is a serious problem because, with the ExpressVote, the only part of the paper record counted as your vote is the barcode....
5/ Although there is human readable text beneath the barcode, a recent study showed that voters miss 93% of inaccuracies in that text. This is an invitation to fraud, especially for down ballot races, such as for state legislature.
6/ Discussion of the study referenced in post 5. @jhalderm led the study. https://t.co/R3aVXpCOGZ
7/ As I explain here, the US rarely conducts robust manual audits anyway. This must change. https://t.co/mbxFpCpFoQ
8/ “America’s preeminent election-auditing expert, Philip Stark...told me...that ‘only a few jurisdictions currently audit elections in a way that has a good chance of catching & correcting wrong reported outcomes...[E]ven those states only audit a few contests in each election.”
9/ Link to screenshot in post 1. It was election security expert @kskoglund who identified the concern about the zebra barcode reader. The ExpressVote XL apparently doesn’t have it, but ESS acknowledged that the ExpressVote does. https://t.co/p0fozWDzww
10/ I wrote about ES&S as a company here. https://t.co/JnJ8bwF3vH
11/ Verified Voting’s verifier tool shows which jurisdictions used ES&S ExpressVote voting systems in 2020. The ones in yellow used it for all or most in person voting. The ones in green used it primarily for ADA use. https://t.co/CxiHJD5hew
12/ I don’t know if all versions of the ExpressVote use the Zebra barcode reader.
13/ It appears that much of Texas and all of Arkansas and SC used the ExpressVote as a primary voting system. The largest county in Kansas, Johnson County, did too.
14/ Much of West Virginia and Ohio too.
15/ More from post 1 report: “These configuration barcode are not secret...They cld cause the barcode scanner to stop tabulating ExpressVote barcodes or to tabulate them incorrectly. They can even be used to allow sending unintended data & keyboard commands to the voting system.”
16/ “A set of carefully constructed keyboard commands could be used to manipulate the voting system software.”
The kicker: “A ballot card pre-printed with configuration barcodes could be submitted by any voter while inside the privacy of the voting booth.” 😳

We really just need #HandMarkedPaperBallots (exception for voters w/ disabilities). #BanTheExpressVote #BanBarcodeVoting 17/
PS. This does NOT prove fraud. It does indicate a potentially serious vulnerability. 18/
19/ #BanBarcodeVoting
20/ #HandMarkedPaperBallots #PenAndPaper #ProtectOurVotes

More from Jennifer Cohn ✍🏻 📢

Good news! The New York State Board of Elections voted yesterday to REJECT certification of ES&S’s ExpressVote XL all-in-one barcode ballot marking device (BMD), a glitchy & hackable touchscreen that ES&S has hoped officials would stupidly buy in lieu of pen and paper. 1/


I’m still trying to find out @NYSBOE’s reasoning, but I know one problem was that the ExpressVote XL runs on Windows 7 and can only mark ballots in English. If the XL were a person, it would be a MAGA. 2/

The XL has other problems. It runs the barcode “paper ballot” back under the printout AFTER the voter reviews it, which experts say means it could be maliciously programmed to eff with the barcode that is the only part of the “paper ballot” counted as your vote. 3/

Unfortunately, Philadelphia did choose the ES&S ExpressVote XL all-in-one ballot marking device (BMD), ignoring expert advice. I wrote about that unfortunate decision here in 2019. 4/

Here, for @NYRBooks, I also discuss problems involving the ES&S ExpressVote XL in PA in 2019. ES&S lobbyists had secretly donated to the two decision makers who then chose this system in Philly in lieu of #HandMarkedPaperBallots (pen & paper). 5/

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