Election Administration Using Voting Machines Part 3 & 4 of 6
This is Part 3 & 4 of a series. Here is Part 1 and Part 2.
I have questions.
Perhaps there are reasonable answers to my questions.
If I was employed by a County, I would want answers to these questions and as a voter, I expect that County officials at a minimum understand the answers and supervise the vendors.
Remember, we paid for these machines.
At the time of this writing, the videos linked below are publicly accessible. It is also archived on the wayback machine. The way to read this article is to have one window open with the video running and another with these questions.
The questions asked below are only based on the features demonstrated, not every feature available for use.
Decide for yourself if they are worth asking…..
What additional question do you have?
Timestamp 0:00:00
What login credential were used on this machine to access the Election Project to be opened?
Is there an audit trail of all actions taken once the EMS Election Event Designer is opened?
Why is a group credential used instead of an individual credential for open the specific election file?
Timestamp 0:01:00
Why is the user permitted to export the activation configurations via BROWSE function to any directory desired, including a network directory?
Why are the poll worker cards unified when there is clearly a list of precincts available that could be to make the CF specific to a precinct?
Timestamp 0:01:45
What chain of custody exists to ensure the CF does not have malware on it prior to being configured?
Who and where is the activation PIN for the CF programmed prior to downloading it to the card. Who has access to PIN?
Timestamp 0:03:00
What prevents a user from browsing the wrong location on the machine or possibly on a network when looking for the activation configuration settings for the CF?
How many times can a poll worker enter in the PIN for the smart card configuration before the system is locked from use?
Timestamp 0:00:00
What login credential were used on this machine to access RTR?
The Results Status available include: Empty, Initial, Validated and Rejected. Under what circumstances would a set of results obtain a “Rejected” status?
How do results file obtain a status of “Published” which permits them to be reported on? Who has the credentials to publish results?
Timestamp 0:11:00
Why are election reports exportable is editable formats like .csv, excel and word?
Timestamp 0:13:45
How are report profiles that save a particular report configuration prevented from being access from a non-authorized user? Do all users get access to all report profiles?
What authorization and credentials are required to modify a specific report profile used to save a reporting format?
Timestamp 0:19:00
Why are reports permitted to be exported to an editable format “as needed”?
Why aren’t profiles used to limit what types of users have access to what types of reports including which reports can be edited?
Timestamp 0:23:43
The % Turnout is a function of a manually entered number for the number registrations in a precinct. How are same day registrations reflected in the turnout report?
What technical controls exists to ensure the number of registrations are properly configured in the election project?
Is there a potential to miss same day registrations because the registration number is manually entered when setting up the election project?
Timestamp 0:24:45
The Basic report option is used for “internal purposes”. What types of internal purpose would a poll worker have to output the election results in an HTML format?
Why would a poll worker be permitted to create an internal report that is in a HTML output format (one of the options as pictured here) and save that report to a network directory (or any directory really)?
Why is it possible to delete ANY report, particularly one that was created as an HTML file and potentially posted to a network directory? Is there a record of the creation and deletion of the reports by user in an audit trail?
Timestamp 0:27:50
The results can be configured to utilize a “transfer point”. The transfer point configuration setting include a “local” option. Are there non-local options for a transfer point, meaning results can be transmitted to a point outside of the network?
Why is there a “host” and a “port” designation on the transfer point configuration setting for transmitting election results? Can an external host be specified?
Why is there a user name and password saved on the setting options of the transfer point menu? Is the password obscured when entered? What is its purpose?
Timestamp 0:30:00
When configuring the export types, what technical or procedural controls exist to ensure that the correct type is specified for that jurisdiction?
What is the consequence of a user picking the wrong “export type”?
Timestamp 0:31:20
Why is the official canvass report exported by the “transfer point” made in an Excel format?
What is to prevent a poll worker from editing the Excel file export prior to it being transferred to the “web portal” where official results are aggregated?