The ProPublica piece is kind of a mess - it doesn't even mention CISA by name - but some of the issues are concerning.
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Once again:
- There are security weaknesses in parts of US election systems, particularly those that use paperless touchscreen voting machines, and we should absolutely address them.
- Fortunately, there is no evidence to date that these technical weaknesses have ever been exploited to alter a US election outcome.
- We know how to secure elections! Paper ballots, optical scanners, post-election risk-limiting audits.
- There's been a great deal of progress, but there's still work to do.
@mattblaze You cannot give these anti-democratic creeps any credence.
Actually responding to them as if their bullshit had any merit is bad.
If you say things like “there are security weaknesses” in response to them flinging propaganda shit, they have won already. You’re doing their propaganda for them.
Please don’t.
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@mattblaze You cannot give these anti-democratic creeps any credence.
Actually responding to them as if their bullshit had any merit is bad.
If you say things like “there are security weaknesses” in response to them flinging propaganda shit, they have won already. You’re doing their propaganda for them.
Please don’t.
@thomasfuchs Except that there *are* security weaknesses in elections. We can't run away from that, and we don't do anyone any favors by pretending there aren't. The truth matters, even in 2026.
But as an election security expert, I try hard to put things in context. If you actually read the post you responded to, I think you'll see that.
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@mattblaze Are there really voting machines in use out there that do not at least print out paper copies of the voter's inputs? That seems like malpractice. It seems like the most obvious thing that they should either modify or print out a paper ballot for the sake of stuff like hand recounts and record keeping.
@dutch_connection_uk There are, though they are falling out of favor in most of the US.
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@mattblaze You cannot give these anti-democratic creeps any credence.
Actually responding to them as if their bullshit had any merit is bad.
If you say things like “there are security weaknesses” in response to them flinging propaganda shit, they have won already. You’re doing their propaganda for them.
Please don’t.
@thomasfuchs @mattblaze
> Actually responding to them as if their bullshit had any merit is bad.Their being lawless is orthogonal to the election security. And addressing real weakness works for the most important in any elections thing: voter's trust in the outcome. In my very humble opinion their projection✸
will work against them. Yelling that clerks all over the percint conspired against the king is harder to push than having a single "expert" influencer calling the mysterious electronics "rigged".✸("they" know thoso machines can be rigged, they tested them thoroughly and massively)
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Once again:
- There are security weaknesses in parts of US election systems, particularly those that use paperless touchscreen voting machines, and we should absolutely address them.
- Fortunately, there is no evidence to date that these technical weaknesses have ever been exploited to alter a US election outcome.
- We know how to secure elections! Paper ballots, optical scanners, post-election risk-limiting audits.
- There's been a great deal of progress, but there's still work to do.
@mattblaze
There are people in TX who recorded the touchscreen voting machines recording votes to candidates they didn't touch the buttons for. -
@mattblaze
There are people in TX who recorded the touchscreen voting machines recording votes to candidates they didn't touch the buttons for.@Eka_FOOF_A I've seen lots of claims like that, but they never seem to be replicable.
It's certainly *possible*, which is why such machines shouldn't be used.
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RE: https://esq.social/@SuffolkLITLab/116229521620498862
The ProPublica piece is kind of a mess - it doesn't even mention CISA by name - but some of the issues are concerning. In particular, the proposals are extremely vague.
They want to ban "voting machines" (under what authority?). Does that mean touchscreen DREs? Fine, that's what virtually all technical experts have recommended for a while. Or do they mean any electronic tabulation, including optical scan paper ballots (widely used and amenable to reliable post-election audits)?
well, considering Musk had people monkey with the voting machines a month or so b4 the 2024 election, I'd love to see us all vote on paper ballots that are hand counted 10 times if that's what it takes to have a fair election.
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well, considering Musk had people monkey with the voting machines a month or so b4 the 2024 election, I'd love to see us all vote on paper ballots that are hand counted 10 times if that's what it takes to have a fair election.
@BillMcGuire Sorry, that “Musk rigged the voting machines” story is a fantasy, supported by neither evidence nor even a theory for how it would have worked.
Please don’t spread bullshit about elections. It doesn’t help anyone.
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RE: https://esq.social/@SuffolkLITLab/116229521620498862
The ProPublica piece is kind of a mess - it doesn't even mention CISA by name - but some of the issues are concerning. In particular, the proposals are extremely vague.
They want to ban "voting machines" (under what authority?). Does that mean touchscreen DREs? Fine, that's what virtually all technical experts have recommended for a while. Or do they mean any electronic tabulation, including optical scan paper ballots (widely used and amenable to reliable post-election audits)?
@mattblaze tbf, I am shocked that CISA has still enough resources to put out anything at all. They took a really heavy hit
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RE: https://esq.social/@SuffolkLITLab/116229521620498862
The ProPublica piece is kind of a mess - it doesn't even mention CISA by name - but some of the issues are concerning. In particular, the proposals are extremely vague.
They want to ban "voting machines" (under what authority?). Does that mean touchscreen DREs? Fine, that's what virtually all technical experts have recommended for a while. Or do they mean any electronic tabulation, including optical scan paper ballots (widely used and amenable to reliable post-election audits)?
@mattblaze The GOP, through it's many surrogates, does whatever it can to make voting more difficult for everyone. That way, it's easier for them to CHEAT.
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Finally, "whether your candidate won" is not a meaningful test for election fraud.
@mattblaze It reminds me of the changing room talk when I was eight years old after gym class where "you cheated" was always the talking point. Unfortunately when it comes to elections it's deadly serious.
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@lin11c the people you’re citing are election deniers who are raising money to “prove” that the 2024 election was rigged. They’re suckering statistically unsophisticated Harris supporters with nonsensical but complex pseudo mathematical bullshit.
Please don’t promote this stuff.
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Also, it's simply too late to make any major changes to election systems this year. Primaries have already started, and the general election is in eight months.
I think it's reasonable to suspect that the play here is simply to set the stage for casting doubt on election outcomes that they regard as unfavorable.
I hope you're right. I'm afraid the play will be to issue an 11th-hour executive order claiming some such authority (maybe nominally based on some obscure law or ruling that had never been interpreted like that before). Then tie everything up in state legislatures, courts, and chaos.
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I hope you're right. I'm afraid the play will be to issue an 11th-hour executive order claiming some such authority (maybe nominally based on some obscure law or ruling that had never been interpreted like that before). Then tie everything up in state legislatures, courts, and chaos.
@mattdm maybe they have MAGICAL POWERS, too.
Trying to stick to what we actually know here.
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@mattblaze
There are people in TX who recorded the touchscreen voting machines recording votes to candidates they didn't touch the buttons for. -
@mattblaze
There are people in TX who recorded the touchscreen voting machines recording votes to candidates they didn't touch the buttons for.So a miscalibrated touchscreen? Happens and should be brought to the attention of the staff at the precinct. They also saw that it selected the wrong candidate.
It’s also why should check what prints out on the paper ballot once it prints and if you see an issue bring it to the attention of the precinct staff.
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@mattdm maybe they have MAGICAL POWERS, too.
Trying to stick to what we actually know here.
Well, we know that they _claim_ magical powers all the time over other things — birthright citizenship, tariffs, whether someone is "entering" the US. If it were as simple as "they don't really have those powers so it won't be a problem"... well, it clearly isn't.
Trump has talked more than once about cancelling the election. (https://time.com/7346834/trump-canceling-midterm-elections-joking-white-house/). Is it a "joke"? Well... I think this puts it well: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/07/19/donald-trump-joking-serious-00442035
We can't _know_, but he _has_ put it on the table.
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@lin11c no, I am not saying that particular statement is false. But they are grifters who are using fake statistics to claim that the 2024 election was stolen and raising money for lawsuits that give false hope to Harris supporters.
What a weird response.
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