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1) The Small World of Voting Machine Certification
An understaffed tiny federal agency and 2 private testing labs responsible for certification of nation's voting systems https://www.theepochtimes.com/the-small-world-of-voting-machine-certification_3587972.html
An understaffed tiny federal agency and 2 private testing labs responsible for certification of nation's voting systems https://www.theepochtimes.com/the-small-world-of-voting-machine-certification_3587972.html
2) A deeper look into the certification process used for the machines reveals that the main certification agency in the US, the EAC, maintains an unexpectedly small staff, and one of its chief employees is a former executive of Dominion Voting Systems.
3) Furthermore it appears the bulk—if not all—of the testing of the election equipment is conducted by only two companies, Pro V&V and SLI Compliance.
Pro V&V was used by Georgia's SoS Raffensperger to do an "audit" of a random sample of machines.
Pro V&V was used by Georgia's SoS Raffensperger to do an "audit" of a random sample of machines.
4) In May 2019, as the agency was preparing for the 2020 election, it announced the departure of Ryan Macias, who had served as EAC’s acting director of testing and certification.
This left only one full-time staff member dedicated to overseeing the certification process.
This left only one full-time staff member dedicated to overseeing the certification process.
6) On May 21, 2019 the EAC announced it was adding two individuals to its voting certification program - including Jessica Bowers, recently the Director of Certification for Dominion Voting Systems and a 10-year veteran with the firm.
7) “It was not immediately clear how the EAC might mitigate any potential conflicts of interest that could arise with hiring Bowers, the former director of certification at Dominion Voting Systems, onto the EAC program.” https://www.cyberscoop.com/election-commission-hires-2-tech-experts-testing-certification-program/
8) On the EAC website, there are seven Voting System Test Laboratories (VSTL) listed.
However, only two of these testing labs, Pro V&V and SLI Compliance are listed on the page as accredited, as the others are listed as having their accreditation expired.
However, only two of these testing labs, Pro V&V and SLI Compliance are listed on the page as accredited, as the others are listed as having their accreditation expired.
9) From early 2017 on, these two companies are the only testing labs to have provided voting system certification according to a listing of certifications by the EAC.
10) Despite being responsible for the testing and data used in the certification of entire voting systems, Pro V&V has only a single office listed, located in a business suite, that is supported by a surprisingly crude and sparse website.
11) Pro V&V, like Dominion Voting and Smartmatic, is a member of CISA’s Sector Coordinating Council, the same council that recently issued the joint statement on the 2020 presidential election.
The other primary testing lab, SLI Compliance, is also a member of the same council.
The other primary testing lab, SLI Compliance, is also a member of the same council.
12) In response to recent allegations of potential problems with the integrity of Dominion’s voting machines used in the Nov. 3 election, Pro V&V has been repeatedly cited as an authority in denying these allegations, including the recount in Georgia.
13) Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger issued a statement announcing the completion of the state’s voting machine audit which claimed “Pro V&V found no evidence of the machines being tampered.”
The statement was widely cited by media organizations.
The statement was widely cited by media organizations.
14) It appears Pro V&V only verified that "the only software or firmware on the components was certified for use" by the SoS Office.
The headline of the release appears to have been more important than the actual functions performed by Pro V&V.
The headline of the release appears to have been more important than the actual functions performed by Pro V&V.
15) During pre-election testing of Dominion's systems in Georgia in late September 2020, election officials discovered a problem with the display for the U.S. Senate race, finding that under certain circumstances, not all of the candidates’ names fit on a single screen.
16) Dominion submitted a software fix to Pro V&V for evaluation.
On Oct 1, Dr. Eric Coomer told the Court he believed the software change “was de minimis,” but stated that Dominion did not make that determination but instead “submit that change to an accredited laboratory..."
On Oct 1, Dr. Eric Coomer told the Court he believed the software change “was de minimis,” but stated that Dominion did not make that determination but instead “submit that change to an accredited laboratory..."
17) Dr. Coomer was asked if he knew whom at Pro V&V was performing the software testing.
Coomer said he did not and noted “I don’t know the makeup of Pro V&V’s employees.”
Both companies are members of the same CISA council.
Coomer said he did not and noted “I don’t know the makeup of Pro V&V’s employees.”
Both companies are members of the same CISA council.
18) This statement from Coomer seems particularly odd given that only three employees of Pro V&V have been located in reviewed documents; Jack Cobb, Michael Walker and Wendy Owens.
Owens and Walker performed the 3 recent testings for Certification of Dominion's Democracy Suite.
Owens and Walker performed the 3 recent testings for Certification of Dominion's Democracy Suite.
19) On Oct. 2, 2020, a letter from Wendy Owens of Pro V&V was sent confirming “that this version of the ICX software corrected the issue.”
The letter concluded with a recommendation from Pro V&V that the software change to Dominion’s systems be “deemed as de minimis.”
The letter concluded with a recommendation from Pro V&V that the software change to Dominion’s systems be “deemed as de minimis.”
20) On Oct. 3, a declaration from Dr. J. Alex Halderman was filed that refuted the procedures of Pro V&V’s testing, noting that the “report makes clear that Pro V&V performed only cursory testing of this new software."
21) On October 11, 2020, Judge Amy Totenberg issued a ruling noting that “Despite the profound issues raised by the Plaintiffs, the Court cannot jump off the legal edge and potentially trigger major disruption in the legally established state primary process”.
22) The Judge noted that Jack Cobb, the Director of Pro V&V “plainly indicated that he actually claims no specialized knowledge or background in cybersecurity engineering and did not himself perform any security risk analysis of the BMD [Ballot Marking Device] system.”
23) Instead, the Judge noted, “State Defendants relied on Dr. Coomer’s testimony, to address – based on his professional experience – some of the significant cybersecurity issues raised by Plaintiffs.”
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Side Note: Mistake on thread numbering on my part.
There is no Tweet #5.
Apologies.
There is no Tweet #5.
Apologies.
