On February 9, 2022, Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Chris Anderson spoke at the Seminole Republican Women Federated meeting at the Oviedo Cultural Center on the topic of Election Integrity.
With over 100 in attendance, the topic was a hot button issue for constituents who were looking for answers on the security and procedures related to the electronic voting machines used in the county.
SHERLOC, a leading market research firm, was there as well.
What was uncovered was unexpected, and confirmed the concerns of many in the audience.
After speaking on his background and his role as Supervisor of Elections for Seminole County, Mr. Anderson took questions which quickly moved to the topic voting machines and the potential for fraud.
Shortly after the Q&A session began, a question was posed about the voting machines being connected to the internet. Without a clear answer, a follow up question was presented relative to evidence of a “digital footprint” example of irregularity, which also went unanswered.
Additional questions were asked about the process of vote counting, the patent on ES&S and Dominion voting machines, and the parties responsible for the vote counting process. Mr. Anderson's response to these questions was that the system is completely secure, that the chain of command and access was tightly controlled, and that there was the utmost security and integrity, referring multiple times to a colleague sitting in the audience.
KEY QUESTIONS
SHERLOC co-Founders, Julianna Ormond & RC Williams, prepared a series of questions to address the concerns related to voting machines being connected to the internet after speaking with multiple concerned citizens.
Beginning with a request for clarity for everyone in the audience, Williams suggested that a detailed video posted to the Supervisor of Elections website explaining how the voting machine process works, with clarity on their connectivity to the internet, would be extremely helpful to constituents.
Continuing, Williams posed a direct question as to whether or not the voting machines are connected to the internet.
“They are not plugged in,” SOE Anderson responded.
For clarification, our understanding is that Mr. Anderson was referencing that the machines were not connected to the internet through plugging in an ethernet cable into the voting machine and then into the wall.
In a follow up question, Williams pointed out that according to the patents for the machines, they have wireless modems that can connect automatically.
At this point, SOE Anderson explained that constituents want to know the results of an election right after the polls close at 8pm, thus, that information has to be fed to the Secretary of State’s office.
Williams then asked if that meant the machines are connected, which SOE Anderson confirmed for the use of feeding the information to the Secretary of State’s office.
Williams then described that an internet connection is like a “two lane highway” and if there was a “pipe” (internet connection) out from the machine, then there also had to be a “pipe”(internet connection) into the machine as well, and then asked if this was the case for the machines.
“It’s encrypted… and it’s a really long code,” responded SOE Anderson.
Anderson went on to discuss and seemingly demonstrate the process of feeding the information to the Secretary of State’s office, which received an audible response from the audience, and the cybersecurity measures ‘taken’ that a member of his staff was entrusted with access and oversight for.
The exchange on February 9th confirmed that voting machines in Seminole County do indeed have the ability to connect to the internet and are connected to the internet to send information, which runs counter to prior explanations by various sources locally and nationally, including the companies that produce the voting machines.
ADDITIONAL ACTIONS
On March 30th, 2022, the office of the Seminole County Supervisor of Elections announced a brand-new initiative titled the EVOLVE Partnerships. Standing for Enhancing Voting Operations and Lifting Voter Experiences, this first of its kind initiative allows the Elections Office to increase its partnerships with accredited physical security and cybersecurity agencies as it moves forward to create innovative opportunities to address the challenges found in 21st century elections.
“I made a solemn promise to the voters of Seminole County to protect their vote. These partnerships come at a time when our democracy continues to face threats by those who seek to undermine it,” said SOE Anderson.
“By evolving just as the threats to elections have, we will be able to anticipate, assess, and respond to threats as they develop, which will ensure the supreme quality of integrity shines throughout Seminole County’s electoral process.” Click here to read the full announcement.
As of April 19, 2022 (via the Seminole SOE website), the SOE had partnered with former Florida Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee and the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS)on the #TrustedInfo2022 initiative.
According to SOE Anderson, “Misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation (MDM) continue to be threats that seek to undermine not only our democracy, but voter confidence and the integrity of our elections as well. As Chair of the Public Relations Work Group within FSE, this partnership with the Secretary of State and NASS was a top priority for our team who came up with the idea in early January. These partnerships are exactly what the EVOLVE Partnerships strive to achieve as we move forward into the future.”
Click here to read the full announcement.
No other information appears on the VoteSeminole.com site related to the Evolve Partnerships or the #TrustedInfo2022 initiative.
PULLING IT TOGETHER
In summary, continued inherent dangers remain in the use of voting machines from the makers of those machines and software providers for those machines.
Constituents must continue to demand clarity and transparency with regard to what’s being done with the machines, what’s being explained to the public, and the security and integrity of voter data.
All public servants should provide that clarity without question whenever requested.
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