Saturday, December 14, 2019

New Lawsuit Against PA Voting Machines


Free Speech For People has filed a Lawsuit in Pennsylvania State Court challenging the use of the Insecure, Unreliable, ExpressVote XL Voting Machines.

The Lawsuit, filed against Secretary of the Commonwealth, Kathy Boockvar, with the Pro Bono assistance of the Law Firm Baker Hostetler LLP, argues that the ExpressVote XL does Not meet Legal Requirements for Voting Machines under the Pennsylvania Election Code, and use of it Violates Voting Rights under the Pennsylvania Constitution.

The Plaintiffs are the National Election Defense Coalition, the Pennsylvania-based Citizens for Better Elections, and a Group of Individual Pennsylvania Voters.

The Lawsuit cites Problems with some of the ES&S ExpressVote XL Machines during the November 2019 Election in Northampton County. The Machines’ Electronic Count Missed nearly All Votes for One of Three Candidates in a Countywide Judicial Contest. The Bad Tally forced County Officials to rely on the Machine’s Paper Ballots, which are Printed as a Backup, to decide the Winner.

Vote Totals in a Northampton County Judge’s Race showed One Candidate, Abe Kassis (D), had just 164 Votes out of 55,000 Ballots Across more than 100 Precincts. Some Machines reported Zero Votes for him. In a County with the Ability to Vote for a Straight-Party Ticket, One Candidate’s Zero Votes was a near Statistical Impossibility. Officials began Hand Counting the Paper Backup Ballots generated by the same Machines. The Paper Ballots showed Mr. Kassis Winning narrowly, 26,142 to 25,137, over his Opponent, Victor Scomillio (R).

In nearly 60 pages, the Suit details Claims that the Machines Violate Procedures for Ballot Security, Fail to Consistently and Accurately Record Votes, Violate Voter Secrecy Requirements, are Not designed to be Accessible to Disabled Voters, and use an Illegal Ballot Format. It also Claims the Challenges to the Machines’ Certification were Ignored.

“No audit or recount can address the problem of voters who decide not to vote due to frustration or long lines caused by machine failures, or accusations of unreliability or tampering," the Suit says. "The poor performance of the machines in the November 2019 election amply demonstrated this threat.”










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker


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