In Focus This Week
I. In Focus This Week
DEFCON26 shows partnerships will win the war
Voting Village looks at vulnerabilities, threats to system
By Jennifer Morrell
Democracy Fund
As a former election official in Colorado, the summer of 2017 was focused on the successful implementation of our first statewide risk-limiting audit. It was exciting because we anticipated it would be an important component in further validating the outcome of elections.
So you can imagine the frustration we felt with the headlines coming from last summer’s DEFCON25 stating that voting equipment could easily be hacked. My perspective was that it was just a publicity stunt to get attention. Fortunately, it did get quite a bit of attention, helping to pave the way for federal funding to states for new voting equipment.
Now a year later I found myself accepting an invitation to attend DEFCON26 and observe the Vote Hacking Village. I’ve attended many different conferences, but nothing prepared me for the semi-controlled chaos of DEFCON.
The neon, flashing conference badge, the chill-out rooms, the Goons (part security, part information providers), 20,000-ish tech geeks, Caesar’s Palace. The whole thing was a trip!
To say I felt out of my comfort zone was an understatement. Besides realizing I was navigationally challenged, I found myself in a sea of people who all seemed to speak another language.
Election administrators certainly have their own lexicon, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise that hackers and technology experts have a language of their own as well. It was as much about the experience as a realization there is a whole world of terms and expertise I knew nothing about. But, here is what I did learn…
Vulnerabilities and threats to the election system
The keynote speaker, David Sanger, noted that in 2007 “cyberthreat” was not even a word in our national threat assessment, so there is a very good reason why the recent threats to our elections have left the election community scrambling to catch up. This is all very new and has the potential to completely change how we conduct elections.
It seemed evident this year that the Voting Village organizers recognized the election system was more than just voting equipment. The Village was organized to illustrate the vulnerabilities and threats to voter databases, election night reporting websites, e-pollbooks, and of course voting equipment, specifically DREs and optical scanners.
Some criticisms have been levied against the usefulness of this whole production since it takes place in a pseudo environment where hackers have unfettered access to the voting equipment and systems. While this was true there were also some eye-opening things that took place.
I watched hackers pick locks and security seals in just a few seconds with what seemed like nothing more than the flick of their wrists. These were the same locks and numbered seals we use to secure memory card doors on DREs and seal ballot boxes/bags used for storing paper ballots, memory cards, etc. They could pull the locks and seals apart and put them back on again with no damage and no evidence of tampering. In some demonstrations they were able to pick the lock, remove the seal, and tamper with the card reader and memory card slot in just a few seconds giving them full administrative access to the machine.
They tried to demonstrate the point that being disconnected from the internet doesn’t mean your system is safe if there are flaws in the machine. They shared real world examples of situations where hackers were able to inject a virus into other critical systems with high levels of physical security and no internet connections – which was chilling.
My favorite demonstration was a large-screen projection with graphics representing a state voter registration database and the sophisticated layers of security between a hacker and the database. The challenge was to breach the security and tamper with the database. Conference goers could watch and see how far a hacker had been able to penetrate through the layers of security, which seemed to be a real challenge.
There was conversation about how far in some of the hackers had got and what they had learned but ultimately none were able to penetrate the database. One of the many reasons I was able to confidently answer the question, “do you think elections are more secure now than they were in 2016” with a resounding “yes! – they are absolutely more secure then they have every been”. (I got asked that a lot!)
The organizers were passionate about the need for paper ballots, risk-limiting audits, and better resources to protect the back-end systems and hopeful that the Voting Village demonstration would accelerate the implementation of those practices. (They were also optimistic that paper ballots were only the answer until they can help us come up with something better.)
Strong desire to understand elections and collaborate
I went to DEFCON with the idea that I would just observe and learn. It was pointed out on the first day that I was in the audience and was an ex-election official now focusing on risk-limiting audits. This made observing all the activity in the Voting Village a challenge. I was constantly approached by hackers and tech experts all wanting to ask questions about how elections were conducted, how voting equipment was tested, and especially how risk-limiting audits worked and the process for conducting them.
I noticed that other election officials in attendance, who were brave enough to identify themselves as such, were getting the same questions. Some participants came to the discussion with skepticism, but all seemed to leave impressed with the steps that are being undertaken by the election community to secure elections as well as a better understanding of what actually takes place when planning and conducting an election.
I heard repeated references to the ‘election system’ separate from discussions about voting equipment so I think they are listening to us. Clearly the focus this year was not just on voting equipment.
Though it has been a controversial news story this week, the fact that an 11-year-old girl could breach a replicated state election website in under 10 minutes, with little help or input, should be a wakeup call to all of us that if you haven’t had an expert review and test your website for vulnerabilities you need to find an individual or organization who will do that for you. [Ed. Note: The Voting Village issued a correction that it was actually an 11-year-old boy who hacked the site in 10 minutes. The 11-year-old girl did it in 15 minutes.]
Most of the hackers I talked to felt that it was important to pick apart the equipment, websites, and registration databases to understand what flaws and vulnerabilities might be present. This was not just so they could show off their skills. There was a genuine desire to help election officials improve their security protocol and encourage voting system vendors to fix the vulnerabilities.
Partnerships will win the war
It is clear that election hacking, and conversely election security, is complex. Conference organizers and participants repeated over and over again that state and local election officials need more resources. On more than one occasion presenters from the tech side admonished the hackers participating to become poll workers. The audience erupted in applause when one speaker suggested that the best way to learn how elections work and make them more secure is to volunteer as a poll worker.
While the focus of the conference was on increasing security for the technological components – hardware, software, firmware, security settings, etc. it struck me that all of these recommendations have a human component. They need people with a specific set of skills and education to implement them.
State and local election offices need funding not just for new voting equipment but to recruit and retain staff with the technical skills to test, monitor, maintain, and audit that equipment. Until they receive adequate funding and the FTEs to do that, some type of public/private partnership may be the best answer.
I saw another side to this community than what I was expecting, and I think it is in our best interest to stop thinking of them as adversaries and start thinking about ways we can collaborate and utilize their expertise. In fact, we should probably rely on this same cadre of tech experts to help us write new job descriptions and org charts, so we can start hiring security and auditing experts of our own when and if the funding is put in place.
Until then, maybe we should look to DEFCON and other similar gatherings as free consulting. We may not agree with all of the recommendations that are made but we can at least use the information to better inform the questions we ask when looking for new voting equipment as well as use it to enhance our cybersecurity and physical security practices. Likewise, if there is a recommendation made by the hacker community that would be detrimental to the election process we know that’s an area where we can collectively stand firm and find ways to better communicate and inform. I hope to see more election officials in the Voting Village next year!
(Jennifer Morrell previously served as the deputy of elections & recording in Arapahoe County, Colorado. She is currently a consultant for the Democracy Fund and leads the Election Validation Project aimed at increasing trust in elections through audits, standards, and testing. She was invited to the Voting Village at DefCon by Jake Braun, University of Chicago & Cambridge Global Advisors.)
Federal-State Updates
II. Federal-State Updates
Four members of the House Intelligence Committee have introduced cybersecurity legistion that is a companion measure to a bill introduced by Sens. James Lankford (R-Oklahoma) and Amy Klobacher (D-Minnesota).
The Secure Elections Act, introduced by Reps. Tom Rooney (R-Florida), Trey Gowdy (R-South Carolina), Jim Himes (D-Connecticut) and Terri Sewell (D-Alabama), would set up a voluntary grant program for states to replace outdated, paperless voting machines with those that provide a paper trail that can be audited in the event a result is called into question.
Primary Updates
III. Primary Updates
Connecticut: Turnout in the Nutmeg state was “on par” with past primaries with overall turnout coming between 20-25 percent, once all absentees and provisionals are tallied. There were some problems at polling stations statewide with polls at one location in Middletown opening about 15 minutes late and in New Britain, a voting machine went down forcing poll workers to use an auxiliary bin for the cast ballots.
Hawaii: Hawaii held its primary over the weekend the big story out of the 50th state was the growing popularity of absentee mail-in ballots that lead to quiet polling places on election day. “It’s slow, very slow,” Virginia Maimon, precinct chairwoman at the Campbell High School polling site in Ewa Beach told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. “This is my fourth election cycle, and this is the slowest I can ever remember.” According to the Star-Bulletin, elections officials sent out more than 238,000 absentee ballots, compared to more than 191,000 for the 2016 primary election, said Nedielyn Bueno, voter services section head for the state Office of Elections.
In Maui County, voter turnout for the primary was 36.2 percent, which is the highest primary turnout in more than two decades. Overall turnout was 38.6 percent which was higher than the 2016 presidential primary turnout.
Minnesota: Following a strong early voting showing, turnout in Minnesota hit a record high this primary. The high turnout meant some precincts in the City of Duluth and St. Louis County ran out of ballots, which forced election judges to make copies of ballots that then had to be hand counted. In the city of Tower, nearly one-in-five residents received the wrong ballot which most likely means their votes will not end up counting. Voters and officials in Moorehead praised new technology that helped move the large number of voters more quickly than in the past.
Vermont: There were no reports of any issues in Vermont’s primary where probably the biggest story of the night was who won what race. The state did roll out a new ADA compliant voting machines at all polling places which meant voters with disabilities no longer had to rely on the state’s old call-in voting system.
Wisconsin: Voters headed the polls in the Badger state and while there were scattered problems at the polls throughout the day, the biggest issues were in Dane and Rock counties where election websites failed to function properly. Neither website problem stemmed from any sort of hack or DOS event. In Chippewa County, there were ballot shortages. Milwaukee officials experienced issues with vote counting machines.
Election News This Week
IV. Election News This Week
The Voice of America has an interesting story about the outcome of a series of hearings held by the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) this year to hear about voting experiences for Native Americans throughout the country. “And what we heard was really disturbing,” NARF attorney Jacqueline D. De León, a member of the Isleta Pueblo in New Mexico told VOA.
A horrible story out of Florida about the fight to restore voting rights to ex-felons. What began as a political discussion about rights restoration on a public Facebook page turned personal and then violent when Brian Sebring drove to the home of the man he was arguing with, Alex Stephens, and shot him. Stephens was treated and released for his wounds and Sebring faces felony charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and carrying a concealed gun.
There’s nothing we love more than election-related stickers so we were saddened to read a recent story out of Mississippi where a fight is brewing over Rep. Jay Hughes’ (D), a candidate for lieutenant governor, plan to distribute “vote in honor of a veteran” stickers with his name on them. The state GOP is crying foul. This comes on the heels of Hughes complaining about Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann (R) distributing similar stickers earlier this year.
In much happier election sticker news, Durham County, North Carolina, is hosting a contest to choose the county’s new “I Voted” stickers. There are 30 designs to choose from and the top three vote getters will go before the county’s board of elections for a final decision on September 13. We’re not going to lie, choice #7 may be our favorite, but we’ll be excited to see whichever one the voters choose!
Personnel News: North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger has submitted signatures to appear on the November ballot as an independent. Michael Coachman has also submitted his paperwork to run as an independent in November. Elkhart, Indiana Clerk Wendy Hudson has resigned from her job to take on the role director of public and legislative affairs for the Santa Clara County, California registrar of voters’ office. John Pope has been appointed to the Wilson County, Tennessee election commission. Heather Freese is resigning as the Williams County, Ohio elections director. Terry Graham is stepping down as the director of elections in Chester County, South Carolina.
Legislative Updates
V. Legislative Updates
Federal Legislation: Rep. Grace Meng (D-New York) has introduced legislation that would repeal the 26th Amendment and replace it with new language that would lower the minimum voting age to 16.
California: The General Assembly has approved legislation that will create an Office of Elections Cybersecurity, a new bureau dedicated to combating cyberattacks directed at the state’s voting systems and correcting disinformation directed at voters.
Maine: The Portland City Council voted to delay a vote on allowing legal non-citizens the right to vote in school elections. The council expressed concerns that giving permanent residents the right to vote could put them at risk of being targeted by federal immigration agents.
Massachusetts: Gov. Charlie Baker has signed a bill into law making Massachusetts the 14th state to approve automatic voter registration. Secretary of State William Galvin said AVR will be in place by 2020.
Ohio: Akron City Council members Russel Neal and Bruce Kilby have submitted legislation to eliminate primary elections in Akron. If approved by the city council, the measure will appear on the November ballot.
Legal Updates
VI. Legal Updates
Alabama: Circuit Court Judge Michael Bellamy has charged a Russell County grand jury to determine whether there should be an indictment in potential crimes from alleged voter fraud in the November 2017 Phenix city council special election.
Arizona: Judge Douglas Rayes heard arguments last week over the state’s ballot harvesting law which bans anyone but caregivers or family members from delivering a completed early ballot to a polling place. Rayes did not indicate when he would rule.
California: Superior Court Judge Ronald L. Styn has ruled that San Diego County must place the Full Voter Participation Act on the November 2018 ballot. The Board of Supervisors had argued that including the measure on the 2018 ballot would add costs to the 2018 election. If approved, the measure would require all elections for county offices to be decided in a November runoff.
Florida: Judge Raag Singhal has ordered Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes to change the way her office handles mail-in ballots. According to the Sun Sentinel, Singhal said Florida law is clear on the subject: The ballots should not be opened until the county’s three-member canvassing board had determined the validity of the ballots.
Georgia: In a court filing this week, Secretary of State Brian Kemp said the state would be “plunged into chaos” if a federal judge grants a request to immediately switch to paper ballots for the November general election. “There is no ‘paper-ballot fairy’ who, with magic wand at ready, can save plaintiffs’ half-baked ‘plans’ from devolving into a fiasco,” according to the filing.
Indiana: Judge Sarah Evans Baker has ruled against Solicitor General Tom Fisher’s attempt to halt the expansion of early voting sites in Marion County. According to WIBC, Baker noted that federal law trumps state law in voting-rights cases.
Iowa: The Iowa Supreme Court has handed down a split decision on the state’s new voter ID law. The court has ruled that the shorter, 29-day period for early voting under the law is acceptable, but agreed with the lower court that temporarily blocked rules requiring an identification number to apply for an absentee ballot and allowing election officials to reject absentee applications and ballots when they determine signatures on those forms don’t match a voter’s signature on record.
Massachusetts: Two voters have filed a federal lawsuit over a state law that bans passive shows of support for candidates on clothing in polling places. The plaintiffs argue that their First Amendment rights are being violated. “The government should not be in the business of telling people what to wear when they vote,” Attorney Jeremy Colby told the Boston Herald. “If you just keep chipping away at our First Amendment right, which is the core building block of our democracy and our ability to communicate ideas, little by little, it does erode that First Amendment right.”
Michigan: According to Michigan Live, Secretary of State Ruth Johnson is asking U.S. District Judge Gershwin Drain to reconsider his decision to allow straight-ticket voting on the November ballot.
Nevada: Renaldo Johnson, 56 of Las Vegas was given a suspended sentence and placed on probation for his role in a voter fraud scheme during the 2016 election.
New Hampshire: U.S. District Judge Landya McCafferty has struck down New Hampshire’s law that allows poll workers to toss out absentee ballots if they don’t believe the signature adequately matches the one used on other voting paperwork. According to New Hampshire Public Radio, McCafferty said “the current process for rejecting voters due to a signature mismatch fails to guarantee basic fairness,” because it gives moderators “sole, unreviewable discretion” to discard absentee ballots. “It cannot be emphasized enough that the consequence of a moderator’s decision — disenfranchisement — is irremediable,” Judge McCafferty wrote.
North Carolina: Roberto Hernandez-Cuarenta, 57 of Zebulon has been convicted of two counts of voting by a non-citizen and sentenced to four months in federal prison. Hernandez-Cuarenta has legal, permanent resident status, but was not a U.S. citizen when he voted in the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections.
Also in North Carolina, five residents who were recently featured in a New York Times article because they had been accused of voting illegally have had felony charges dropped under a plea deal. The five had been accused of voting while still on parole or probation. According to WRAL, the five entered Alford pleas to misdemeanor obstruction of justice charges.
Texas: Cynthia Gonzalez has pleaded guilty in San Patricio County court to three election code violations in Nueces County. According to KIII, investigators say the charges include marking a ballot and sending it in for another voters.
West Virginia: The first of a dozen wrongful firing lawsuits against the secretary of state is slated to begin on August 27. Plaintiffs in the cases range from receptionists to elections specialists to the elections director. Attorneys for the plaintiffs allege that they were fired because they are registered Democrats.
Tech Thursday
VII. Tech Thursday
Cybersecurity: McAffee announced this week that it will be offering free cloud services to election officials in all 50 states (and we assume the District of Columbia). According to Axios, it’s unclear whether election officials would be able to renew services with McAfee after a year and at what price. “We’d like to get through November first,” Ken Karsten, McAfee’s VP of public sector sales told Axios, adding the discussion about what to do approaching 2020 has “not concluded.”
Websites: The Campaign Legal Center has a new website designed to help former felons know and restore their voting rights. Restoreyourvote.org attempts to guide users through the often confusing state laws to determine whether past convictions or unpaid fines will keep them from voting. “There is a lot of misinformation, and the laws can be complicated,” Blair Bowie, a Campaign Legal Center voting rights fellow told Roll Call. “This certainly is an opportunity for people with convictions to assert their voices in elections.”
Opinions This Week
VIII. Opinions This Week
National Opinions: Vote-by-mail | Automatic voter registration | Voting rights | Bitcoin | Election security, II | Voter fraud | Young voters
California: Election security, II
Colorado: Ranked-choice voting
Connecticut: Unaffiliated voters
Florida: Campus early voting sites, II | Voting rights | Flagler County | Early voting
Georgia: Brian Kemp | Accessibility
Guam: Voting rights
Hawaii: Vote-by-mail
Illinois: Election security | DuPage County
Indiana: Lake County, II
Iowa: Early voting
Kansas: Every vote counts | Recount | Election oversight | Kris Kobach | Election reform, II | Johnson County;
Louisiana: Voting system | Early voting | Secretary of state race
Maine: Automatic Voter Registration
Maryland: Automatic Voter Registration
Michigan: High turnout problems
Minnesota: Early voting
New Hampshire: Bill Gardner
New Mexico: Making elections work
New York: State Board of Elections | Election reform
North Carolina: Voting rights, II
Ohio: Voter purges
Pennsylvania: Election security
South Carolina: Ex-felon voting rights
Texas: Travis County
Washington: Garfield County | Voter access
Upcoming Events
IX. Upcoming Events
CTCL Online Series: Cybersecurity for Election Officials — Data breaches, ransomware, and denial-of-service attacks are becoming regular headlines in America, but election officials are uniquely positioned on the front lines to help safeguard our democracy while ensuring that each vote counts. Due to the strong response to our July series, we’re offering these cybersecurity courses again at the end of August. Join election officials from around the country in our online series that will empower your election office to manage cyber threats and communicate with the public about cybersecurity. When: Aug. 27-29. Where: Online.
Election Center 34th Annual National Conference — Attendees will be inspired and energized as we head into the final stretch of the mid-term election year. We will share substantive elections issues including crucial critical infrastructure information, new updates from the investing in elections project, elections in review, information on new voting systems, the vendor exhibit area where you can learn about new and innovative voting system support and much more! We will honor and celebrate the winners of the Election Center’s acclaimed Professional Practices Papers’ Program. IT is also a platform in which election officials can share their successful practices. Award Winners will be announced at a session on Monday afternoon and you will take home all the best practices submitted on your own DVD. When: Aug. 27-28. Where: New Orleans.
National Election Security Summit — National, state and local election authorities will join officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Election Assistance Commission, Elections Infrastructure — Information Sharing and Analysis Center, security professionals, election experts, and other industry leaders to learn and share tangible best practices. These security discussions will provide attendees useable steps to mitigate threats and vulnerabilities as election authorities gear up for the 2018 mid-term elections. This is an event designed for election officials and is not open to the public and space is limited. When: September 10-11. Where: St. Louis, Missouri.
Job Postings This Week
X. Job Postings This Week
electionlineWeekly publishes election administration job postings each week as a free service to our readers. To have your job listed in the newsletter, please send a copy of the job description, including a web link to mmoretti@electionline.org. Job postings must be received by 5pm on Wednesday in order to appear in the Thursday newsletter. Listings will run for three weeks or till the deadline listed in the posting.
Certification Manager (Denver, CO) – Dominion Voting Systems — Dominion Voting Systems is seeking a Certification Manager to join our team in Denver, CO! This position is a cross -functional leader playing a key role in managing certification efforts for Dominion Voting products. In this role, you will act as a representative of the company with State and Federal certification officials, test labs, and other key internal and external stakeholders throughout the certification process. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Customer Relations Manager (Phoenix, AZ) – Dominion Voting Systems — Dominion Voting Systems is seeking a Customer Relations Manager to join our team in Phoenix, AZ! This position will be responsible for effectively and proactively managing the day-to-day relationship, administration and technical/product support of one or more assigned customer accounts. Additionally, the CRM will serve as project manager for specialized projects such as pre- and postelection day support, new product implementations, and/or product upgrades/updates. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Cybersecurity Program Manager, National Association of Secretaries of State — cybersecurity Program Manager works directly under the supervision of the Executive Director. General job description includes: Serve as a liaison between the NASS members, federal agencies (US Department of Homeland Security, US Election Assistance Commission, et al.) and Congress on all cybersecurity related issues, policy, legislation, and practices. Staff new NASS Cybersecurity Committee. Maintain current, accurate contact lists for all Secretary of State cyber staff, federal agencies and congressional offices. Monitor and participate in cybersecurity related forums (both public and private sector) in order to provide information and resources to NASS members. Monitor state cybersecurity programs and practices to assist communications director, research director and executive director in developing fact sheets, talking points and white papers. Organize cybersecurity workshops at NASS conferences and semi-annual Tech Talk Forums. Provide assistance with speaker selection for association meetings. Develop and maintain relationships with cybersecurity stakeholders to include private sector, academics, non-profits and advocacy organizations. Assist Executive Director and Director of Research with tracking and analyzing federal, state and congressional activity related to the work of NASS members. Provide IT technical support for NASS office. This is a new position, thus additional duties will be added as position and related work is more established. Application: Please send resume, salary requirements and references to reynolds@sso.org.
Election Security Lead, Wisconsin Elections Commission — the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) develops and maintains several significant IT applications to assist in the administration of Wisconsin elections, including the statewide voter registration system known as WisVote, the Canvass Reporting System, and electronic poll book software known as Badger Book, as well as public websites such as MyVote Wisconsin and BADGER Voters. Protecting the security of these applications is crucial to ensuring accurate elections and maintaining public confidence in the integrity of Wisconsin elections. This position serves as the point person for developing and implementing the agency’s overall elections security plan. It is responsible for ensuring the implementation of cyber security best practices in the Commission’s technical applications including WisVote. This position will research and maintain the agency’s knowledge base regarding cybersecurity infrastructure, resources and practice. This position will also liaise with other State agencies and Federal entities regarding potential cyber threats against the Commission’s applications. Salary: $51,398-$80,621. Deadline: Open until filled. Application. For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Elections Supervisor, Pinal County, Arizona— performs professional and administrative work in planning, organizing and directing strategic and daily goals and objectives, operations and activities of the Elections Department. Work is performed under the general administrative direction of the Elections Director. The employee is expected to exercise initiative, independent judgment and discretion. Salary: $49,647-$56,473. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Embedded System Software Engineer, Clear Ballot — Clear Ballot is looking for a talented Software Engineer who wants to bring their technical skills to bear on a hugely consequential problem. The successful candidate will build and enhance full software stack of highly available applications using primarily Python that interface with front-end web applications implemented in JavaScript and HTML5. The application software deploys on OEM based hardware, with optical scanner, battery backup, and full touchscreen UI, running a custom configured version of Linux OS. The ideal candidate should have strong technical skills, solid understanding of developing for embedded systems, a good working knowledge of the Linux architecture, and software integration with OEM hardware devices. You will be working with a small team of highly skilled individuals to build and enhance a platform that is changing the elections industry. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Field Sales Director, Hart InterCivic — the Field Sales Director works primarily on the road and from a home office when he/she is not on business travel. The Field Sales Director is responsible for creating news sales with prospects and existing clients in a defined region. Today, this role is a single contributor and does not directly manage people. This position will report to the VP of Sales. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Full Stack Principal Software Engineer, Clear Ballot— Clear Ballot is looking for an accomplished Principal Software Engineer who wants to bring their technical and leadership skills to bear on a hugely consequential problem: Bringing transparency to democratic elections. The successful candidate will have the ability to look at the bigger picture and deal with complex and competing requirements to design effective solutions. Extensive knowledge of and experience with large data structures and algorithms will be key. The backend implemented in Python and uses a SQL data base. The front end is implemented in JavaScript, Node.js and HTML5. The ideal candidate should have strong technical and leadership skills and a good working knowledge of the latest concepts in security, performance, and resilience. You will be working with a small team of highly skilled individuals to build and enhance a platform that is changing the elections industry. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Full Stack Software Developer, Clear Ballot— Clear Ballot is looking for a talented Software Engineer who wants to bring their technical skills to bear on a hugely consequential problem. The successful candidate will build and enhance enterprise-level, highly available applications using primarily Python and MySQL that interface with frontend web applications implemented in JavaScript, Node.js and HTML5. The ideal candidate should have strong technical skills and a good working knowledge of the latest concepts in performance, security and resilience. One of the hallmarks of our system is its emphasis on new visualization techniques made possible by sophisticated data structures that enable high-performance in a multi-user environment. You will be working with a small team of highly skilled individuals to build and enhance a platform that is changing the elections industry. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Full-Stack Software Engineer, Clear Ballot — Clear Ballot is looking for a talented Software Engineer who wants to bring their technical skills to bear on a hugely consequential problem – to modernize America’s voting systems and to bring transparency to democratic elections. The successful candidate will build and enhance enterprise-level, highly available applications using primarily Python and MySQL that interface with frontend web applications implemented in JavaScript, Node.js and HTML5. The ideal candidate should have strong technical skills and a good working knowledge of the latest concepts in performance, security and resilience. One of the hallmarks of our system is its emphasis on new visualization techniques made possible by sophisticated data structures that enable high-performance in a multi-user environment. You will be working with a small team of highly skilled individuals to build and enhance a platform that is changing the elections industry. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Inside Sales Representative, Runbeck — to support our desired growth and market expansion, we continue to hire outstanding talent in multiple departments. We are looking for highly motivated, dedicated and talented individuals who will be able to contribute significantly to the success of the company while receiving great opportunities for professional growth and financial benefits. Responsibilities include: Contact potential or existing customers to inform them about a product or service; ability to present solution and its value to a prospect over the phone; answer questions about products or the company; ask questions to understand customer requirements and close sales; enter and update customer information in the database; keep records of calls and sale and note useful information in the CRM; process orders in an accurate manner; and go the “extra mile” to meet sales quota and facilitate future sales. Application: In order to apply, please send a resume to Tammy White: twhite@runbeck.net.
Project Manager (San Leandro, CA or Sacramento, CA) – Dominion Voting Systems — Dominion Voting Systems is seeking an experienced Project Manager to join our team in either San Leandro, CA or Sacramento, CA! This position will be responsible for the effective technical project management of assigned projects which includes but not limited to, business, functional, and risk analysis as well as implementation of new processes, equipment and systems. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Python Developer, Clear Ballot — Clear Ballot seeks a talented python developer in the Boston area to assume responsibility for an existing suite of python scripts to create files for use with ClearVote(TM) digital voting system. Job responsibilities: Maintain and enhance existing python scripts that read PDF formatted ballot styles and produce the files needed by ClearVote (TM) digital voting system to tabulate said ballot; Run existing python scripts to generate marked test ballots for use in testing ClearVote(TM); Develop and execute test plans to guarantee ClearVote tabulates marked ballots correctly; Expand PDF parsing capabilities as new customer’s ballot styles are introduced; Leverage analytics you gather to improve performance through script and/or hardware changes; Must perform these duties within aggressive timelines that often require working outside of normal business hours. Application: For the complete listing and to apply, click here.
Senior Applications and System Coordinator, Douglas County, Colorado— the Senior Applications and Systems Coordinator acts as an expert member of the Clerk and Recorder’s Office across all Divisions and is responsible for the overall coordination, maintenance, and technical support of equipment, systems, applications, and platforms to ensure compatibility and integration with business operations and enterprise strategies. In coordination with the Information Technology (IT) Project Management Office (PMO), this role will assist in defining project scope, requirements, timeline, and milestones including coordination of resources, purchasing, equipment, logistics, systems analysis, software application support, and vendor management. In addition, this role will partner with the IT Application Services Team to determine and implement the best fit solution based on statutory requirements, business value, technical strategy, cost, etc. The Senior Applications and Systems Coordinator is dedicated to elections technology and system support during election cycles; reports to and is a primary redundancy for the Elections Logistics and Technology Supervisor to ensure continuity of operations. Chief Deputy directs work and provides consultative supervision for work performed outside of Elections Division. Salary: $4583-$5729 monthly. Deadline: August 24. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Senior Level Software Developer, BPro — We are a well-established small business that has been developing requirements and producing software for the needs of state governments since 1985 and continue to maintain and upgrade many of those systems. We have offices in Pierre, South Dakota, Fargo, North Dakota, Minnesota & Virginia. We’re currently looking for an energetic and intelligent .Net Developer to join our growing team. Our ideal candidate is one who loves to learn, enjoys working as a team, and who can multitask and meet deadlines. Skills required: .NET, VB, VBA, ASP, SQL, HTML, and JavaScript. A four-year college degree is the minimum educational requirement. All applicants must have excellent written and verbal communications skills. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Senior Software Developer, Runbeck— Runbeck Election Services is looking for full stack enthusiasts who are comfortable tackling end-to-end and enjoy building products that solve big problems and delight customers. We’re a collaborative team who knows how to get things done (Lone Rangers need not apply). We believe that small teams focused on shipping software move the fastest and make the most impact. The ideal candidate for this position has extensive back end skills (C#, MVC, ASP.Net, SQL Server) paired with solid web and desktop skills (IIS, JavaScript, HTML 5, CSS, jQuery, WPF, Win Forms). Must have a solid grasp of our basic toolset (Jira, Visual Studio). Willing to learn new plug-ins and IDE enhancements in order to boost your productivity and are excited to introduce us to new tooling experiences that have worked for you in the past. You bring discipline and care about implementation practices. You are familiar with Agile/Scrum processes, practice common design patterns, embrace clean coding principles, and employ many other techniques in an effort to bring a high level of software craftsmanship to your finished product. Application: In order to apply, please send a resume to Tammy White: twhite@runbeck.net.
Software Developer II (Toronto, ON) – Dominion Voting Systems — Dominion Voting Systems is seeking an experienced Software Developer to join our team in Toronto! This position will be responsible for providing high-level technical expertise to the design, development, coding, testing and debugging of new software products and/or significant enhancements to existing software products. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Software Product Specialist II (Denver, CO) – Dominion Voting Systems — Dominion Voting Systems is seeking a Software Product Specialist II to join our team in Denver, Colorado! This position will be responsible for delivering a wide variety of technical and non-technical customer support services related to the implementation, operation, repair, maintenance and upgrades of Dominion Voting Systems technology products. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Software Product Specialist II (Reno, NV) – Dominion Voting Systems — Dominion Voting Systems is seeking a Software Product Specialist II to join our team in Reno, NV! This position will be responsible for delivering a wide variety of technical and non-technical customer support services related to the implementation, operation, repair, maintenance and upgrades of Dominion Voting Systems technology products. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Software Product Specialist II (Phoenix, AZ) – Dominion Voting Systems — Dominion Voting Systems is seeking a Software Product Specialist II to join our team in Phoenix, AZ! This position will be responsible for delivering a wide variety of technical and non-technical customer support services related to the implementation, operation, repair, maintenance and upgrades of Dominion Voting Systems technology products. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Software Product Specialist II (San Leandro, CA) – Dominion Voting Systems — Dominion Voting Systems is seeking a Software Product Specialist II to join our team in San Leandro, CA! This position will be responsible for delivering a wide variety of technical and non-technical customer support services related to the implementation, operation, repair, maintenance and upgrades of Dominion Voting Systems technology products. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Systems Engineer, Clear Ballot — We are looking for a talented Systems Engineer who has both a technical and services/support background which enables them to quickly assess customer needs and offer value to Clear Ballot’s customers. The Systems Engineer will gain a deep understanding of how Clear Ballot’s products operate and their optimal configuration to build a streamlined installation process of the Clear Vote election system. The ideal candidate for this position can prioritize mission critical tasks and coordinate the implementation and expansion of our systems. They will be able to work directly with customers, display innovation, think conceptually and act tactically to build consensus around system installation and enhancement and meet deadlines. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Marketplace
XI. Marketplace
electionline provides no guarantees as to the quality of the items being sold and the accuracy of the information provided about the sale items in the Marketplace. Ads are provided directly by sellers and are not verified by electionline. If you have an ad for Marketplace, please email it to: mmoretti@electionline.org
Voting Booths
Each aluminum briefcase contains the following: aluminum legs, privacy shield, writing base, light assembly. All units are in great shape dimensions are 22”x 18”x 3“. MFG: ESL. Election supplies Limited, Napa California. Quantity: 400 Price per unit is $50. Contact Greg Larson 408.569.1004