Philippines: Supreme Court junks pleas on source code review in vote counting machines | Benjamin Pulta/The Inquirer

The Supreme Court (SC) has turned down petitions, which seek to compel the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to allow groups to open and review the source code in the vote counting machines (VCMs) as provided for under Republic Act 9369 or the Election Modernization Act of 1997. In an banc decision dated April 30 and released Monday, the High Court likewise denied the motion of the petitioners — Sen. Richard Gordon, the Bagumbayan-NVP Movement Inc. and Tanggulang Demokrasya — to hold former Comelec chair Sixto Brilliantes Jr. in contempt for his failure to comply with his commitments to the Court during the May 8, 2013 oral arguments to, among others, make the source code available for review and to grant more time to the parties to comply with the requirements to do so. “In deciding that Chairman Brillantes is not liable for indirect contempt, the Court focuses solely on the undertakings that were directly promised to the Court, not those which the petitioner feels were promised,” the SC added. The High Court dismissed on the ground of “being moot and academic” while their plea to cite Brilliantes for contempt was junked for “utter lack of merit.”

National: House Passes Election Security Package, With an Eye on Mitch McConnell | Nicholas Fandos/The New York Times

The House on Thursday approved expansive election security legislation that would mandate the use of backup paper ballots and postelection vote audits to guard against potential foreign meddling, seeking to pressure Senator Mitch McConnell to lift his blockade of election legislation in the upper chamber. Timed to coincide with the July 4 holiday, the House bill, which passed 225 to 184, largely along party lines, is the first and most expansive in a blitz of new measures that House Democrats say they will pass to address vulnerabilities highlighted by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III. His report concluded that Russia had conducted “sweeping and systematic” interference in the 2016 presidential election, and members of both parties fear that not enough is being done to prevent that from happening again next year. Other legislation could include a requirement that political campaigns report to the F.B.I. any offer of assistance from a foreign power, new sanctions to punish Russia and other foreign powers that interfere with the American democratic processes, and bipartisan mandates for social media platforms like Facebook to disclose the purchasers of political advertisements. But with the Senate in Republican hands, Democrats have another, more immediate target in mind: trying to shame Mr. McConnell, the majority leader, into dropping his opposition to proposals — even bipartisan ones — and allowing his chamber to consider measures to better protect the vote. House leaders excoriated Mr. McConnell on Thursday and have urged their colleagues to hold events promoting the legislative action as they scatter across the country during the weeklong holiday recess.

National: Democrats promise to punish Russian hacking as Trump seems to make light of it | Joseph Marks/The Washington Post

Democratic presidential hopefuls promised to punish Russia for its 2016 hacking and disinformation campaign during the second night of their first debate Thursday. But their real target was President Trump, who has wavered on whether Russia was responsible for that hacking campaign — which U.S. intelligence agencies say was aimed at helping his electoral chances and hurting Hillary Clinton. They worry that Trump has been unusually friendly with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sen. Kamala Harris (Calif.), who’s among the top five candidates in national polls, called Trump the greatest threat to U.S. national security because “he takes the word of the Russian president over the word of the American intelligence community when it comes to a threat to our democracy and our elections.”

National: 2020 Democrats accelerate push for action to secure elections | Magie Miller/The Hill

Democratic presidential candidates are seizing on election security to attack Republicans for not doing enough to safeguard the country against foreign interference. The attacks were also part of this week’s Democratic debates, when a few candidates cited the threat posed by Russia, including their interference in the 2016 election as spelled out in special counsel Robert Mueller’s report released earlier this year. The calls for action comes as Mueller prepares to testify before Congress next month and as Democrats’ push for enhanced election security has stalled because of Republican opposition. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), at the Democratic debate on Wednesday, blamed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for preventing passage of election security legislation. “We let the Republicans run our elections, and if we do not do something about Russian interference in the election, and we let Mitch McConnell stop all the back-up paper ballots, then we are not going to get to do what we want to do,” Klobuchar said.

National: Trump defends election meddling remarks to Putin | Jessica Campos/The Hill

President Trump on Saturday defended his remarks to Russian President Vladimir Putin in which he appeared to make light of Russian interference in the 2016 election. “You have to take a look at the word. I did say it,” Trump said during a news conference at the Group of 20 (G-20) summit in Osaka, Japan. Trump said Saturday during a news conference that he and Putin had a “tremendous discussion” and suggested election interference came up at another point during their conversation, adding: “I did say it, and I did discuss it a little bit after that, too.” A White House readout issued after the roughly 90-minute meeting between Trump and Putin on Friday made no mention of election interference. Trump had met with Putin Friday where he was pressed by journalists on whether he would tell Russia not to interfere in U.S. elections. “Yes, of course, I will. Don’t meddle in the election, please. Don’t meddle in the election,” Trump said, pointing to Putin and flashing a grin. Putin appeared to chuckle in response.

National: Will Facebook’s New Cryptocurrency Enable Foreign Election Meddling? | Jonathan Berr/Forbes

Facebook is trying to convince U.S. regulators that it is ready to fight efforts by foreigners to interfere with the 2020 Presidential Election while at the same time promoting its Libra cryptocurrency that may make it easier to do just that. The social media giant says it will accept the cryptocurrency anywhere where it takes payments and at least for now won’t rule out allowing it to be used to buy political ads “It’s still early, and we are currently focused on building Calibra (The Facebook div8sion that will handle Libra) and working with the Libra Association and its members to launch Libra next year,” according to a Facebook spokesperson. “We don’t have any further specifics to share at this time.”  Some experts are concerned.  “If they design the system poorly then it will be easier for all of this problematic content to be funded,” Syracuse University Jennifer Grygiel recently told The Telegraph, a U.K. newspaper,

National: Three states responsible for half of all paperless e-voting machines in 2018, survey finds | Derek B. Johnson/FCW

Lawmakers and election security experts have focused much of their energies over the past two years on doing away with paperless Direct Recording Electronic voting machines. While such machines are not inherently more vulnerable to being hacked than other types of voting equipment, information security experts say they represent a unique threat because if compromised, they have no backup paper trail that officials can use in audits to detect discrepancies and determine an accurate vote count. Survey results from the Election Assistance Commission showed that just three states — Pennsylvania, Georgia and Texas — were responsible for more than half of all DRE voting machines without voter verified paper trails used across the nation in 2018. The latest Election Administration and Voting Survey released June 27 also showed that 202,599 of the nation’s 334,422 voting machines used in the 2018 election were DRE machines. About one third (67,535) of those machines had paper backups in place, but 135,064 did not.

Editorials: The 2020 issue that matters is democracy itself | E.J. Dionne Jr./The Washington Post

The future of U.S. democracy will be on the ballot next year. No one should pretend otherwise. We witnessed President Trump’s obvious disdain for democratic rights and liberties once again last week during his warm encounter in Japan with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin. And the Supreme Court’s partisan, antidemocratic decision on gerrymandering, written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., showed how dangerous it would be to expand a right-wing majority hellbent on making our system less inclusive, less fair and less equal. For these reasons, Democratic primary voters should not be knocked for making “electability” their highest criterion in picking a presidential candidate.

Voting Blogs: Stewards of Democracy: The Views of American Local Election Officials | Natalie Adona/Democracy Fund

Local elections officials (LEOs) are the stewards of our democracy, but oftentimes they are left out of important conversations about the future of our elections nationwide. The LEOs from our survey are the chief elections officers in their local jurisdictions. Not to be confused with poll workers, the LEOs surveyed in our new report oversee local election processes and are responsible for ensuring the voting process is fair, free, and secure. Among their many responsibilities, LEOs execute the election laws in their state, make decisions that define the voter experience, and train the permanent and temporary employees that interact with the electorate. It might be hard to imagine but (depending on how you count) between 7,000-10,000 local election officials manage the front line of elections in the United States. Despite their recognition as the people who run elections, LEOs are often left out of national conversations about reform and may not have a seat at the table when important policy decisions are made at the local, state, or federal levels—decisions that they alone will ultimately implement.

Delaware: Governor Carney Signs Early Voting Legislation | Delaware News

On Sunday, the final day of the 2019 legislative session, Governor Carney signed legislation into law that seeks to increase voter participation in Delaware elections by allowing early, in-person voting. House Bill 38, sponsored by Representative David Bentz, will allow registered Delaware voters to cast their ballots at polling places up to 10 days before Election Day. The measure will make it easier for all Delawareans to participate in elections. “Voting is our most fundamental right as Delawareans and Americans,” said Governor Carney. “Regardless of zip code or party affiliation, we should make it easier for all Delawareans to cast their ballots, choose their elected officials, and participate in our democratic process. Thank you to Representative Bentz and other members of the General Assembly for their continued partnership, and for their leadership on this issue.”

Iowa: Democrats express concern about Iowa’s “virtual caucuses” | Eleanor Watson/CBS

Members of the Democratic National Committee expressed skepticism Friday morning about the Iowa state party’s ambitious plan to introduce “virtual caucuses” at the first contest of the presidential primary calendar next February. The discussion came during a meeting of the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC), which sat down in Pittsburgh to go over and approve 22 states’ plans for choosing delegates to the Democratic National Convention, including Iowa’s. An RBC member from Iowa, Scott Brennan, gave a presentation outlining the key changes to the Iowa caucus for the 2020 cycle, with the biggest change being the implementation of virtual caucuses, which would allow Iowans to support candidates without ever leaving home. But the chief technology officer of the DNC, Nell Thomas, expressed concern that this new system might not work. “I hope you have a contingency plan,” Thomas said. Critics of the virtual caucuses proposal said they were worried about the capacity of the system, the security behind it, and how complex it will be for the Iowans who use it. “This is the future, but I don’t know if we’re there yet,” committeewoman Donna Brazile, a former DNC chair, said. Another committee member, Frank Leone, said the process sounded like it made voting more complicated than it needed to be.

Louisiana: Secretary of State on voting machines felon registration I voted stickers | Sara Macneil/Shreveport Times

Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin is up for re-election for a four-year term in October and recently visited Bossier City to tour the Cyber Innovation Center and talk to a Republican women’s group. At the state level, the Secretary of State oversees elections, keeps records and authenticates businesses. Ardoin, a Republican from Baton Rouge, took over as interim Secretary of State in May of last year. Ardoin beat Democrat Gwen Collins-Greenup in December in an election with a 17% voter turnout. The Times spoke with Ardoin for an update on current projects and what he’s accomplished since he’s been office. Ardoin talked about reducing the cost and number of elections and bringing in new technology to enhance voter turnout. Issues of controversy raised during Ardoin’s time in office include contract bids for voting machines, registration of felons and “I voted” stickers.

Montana: Secretary of State Corey Stapleton plans to implement new election software in 2020. Election officials worry that’s too fast. | Alex Sakariassen/Montana Free Press

County elections officials are expressing “grave concerns” over Secretary of State Corey Stapleton’s plan to implement a new statewide election system in time for the 2020 elections. Stapleton’s plan calls for Montana counties to begin transitioning from the state’s decade-old Montana Votes election system to a new suite of election software as early as January. Stapleton’s office inked an exclusive $2 million contract with South Dakota-based information technology company BPro on April 30. Missoula County Chief Administrative Officer Vickie Zeier said the secretary’s staff in early June assured county officials that a final determination on the state’s readiness for the transition will not be made until December.  However, emails acquired through a public-records request show Stapleton’s office set its sights on implementing the new software in time for the 2020 elections months ago. In a June 20 letter to Stapleton, the Montana Association of Clerks and Recorders (MACR) called that timeline “very worrisome,” adding, “our suggested implementation goal would be 2021.”

Pennsylvania: House plans funding for voting machine bill, with conditions | Katie Meyer/WITF

Lawmakers are on track to give Democratic Governor Tom Wolf even more money than he asked for to fund voting machine improvements. However, it will come with conditions. Many of Pennsylvania’s voting machines only record votes electronically. That makes it almost impossible to double-check tallies, and led to the commonwealth settling a lawsuit last year that accused it of being susceptible to election tampering. There’s no evidence tampering happened. But Governor Wolf promised to update the machines by 2020 anyway. It’s an expensive undertaking, so in his budget proposal earlier this year, he asked the legislature to give counties $75 million over five years to help pay for it. Republicans have been on the fence about whether all the machines need upgrades. But GOP Appropriations Committee Chair Stan Saylor said Wednesday, his caucus has decided to back a bill that gives counties $90 million — enough to cover up to 60 percent of the cost of updating the machines.

Europe: How Europe’s smallest nations are battling Russia’s cyberattacks | Jenna McLaughlin/Yahoo News

Earlier this year, the country of Berylia came under a coordinated cyberattack. For two days, hackers targeted the island nation’s power grid and public-safety infrastructure, while cyber experts from across Europe worked to counter the attacks. Of course, the island nation of Berylia is imaginary, but the threat is not, and the exercise, known as Locked Shields, involved real network infrastructure provided by companies like Siemens and water-treatment systems from South Korea. Major Gabor Visky, a Hungarian researcher working for the NATO Center in Tallinn, Estonia, where the exercise took place, told Yahoo News during a tour last month that the simulation aims to get “as close as possible to real life.” It’s not surprising that a NATO cyber defense exercise would take place in Estonia, which has long been at the forefront of the digital revolution. The country took many services online years ago, including the 2002 introduction of its now famous digital ID card for accessing government services.

Philippines: Gordon, groups lose bid to scrutinize source code | Tetch Torres-Tupas/The Inquirer

The Supreme Court has dismissed the petitions filed by Senator Richard Gordon and two other groups asking that it compel the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to allow groups to open and review the source code in the vote-counting machines provided for under Republic Act 9369 or the Election Modernization Act of 1997. Petitioners Bagumbayan-NVP Movement Inc. and Tanggulang Demokrasya specifically want the high court to ask the Comelec to use digital electronic election returns and provide for the basic security safeguards, which include the source code review, vote verification, and random audit in compliance with RA 9369. The high court took note of the existence of several rules and resolutions governing the conduct of the automated elections, including Resolution No. 10458 (General Instructions for the conduct of Random Manual Audit relative to the May 13, 2019 Automated National and Local Elections and subsequent elections thereafter), on December 5, 2018, Resolution No. 10460, or the General Instructions on the constitution, composition and appointment of the Electoral Board; use of the Vote Counting Machines; the process of testing and sealing of the Vote Counting Machines; and the voting, counting and transmission of election results, among others.

Switzerland: E-voting suffers another setback amid expat Swiss concerns | Urs Geiser/SWI

The government has decided to suspend efforts to enshrine electronic voting in Swiss law, but it plans to continue trials using improved systems. The expatriate Swiss community is alarmed by the announcement. A consultation among political parties and the 26 cantons, as well as a series of technical flaws in the current systems, has led the government to review its policy on e-voting, according to the Federal Chancellor Walter Thurnherr. “Opinions are clearly divided. The cantons have come out in favour, but the parties are against,” he told a news conference on Thursday. “This means there is not sufficient support at the moment for the introduction of e-voting on a legal basis.” Thurnherr added that the series of limited e-voting trials underway since 2004 will continue unless “citizens or politicians decide otherwise”, though he also acknowledged that public opposition has grown since the tide started turning against e-voting two years ago. Recently, a committee launched a people’s initiative for a five-year e-voting moratorium amid the controversial discovery of technical problems in the two e-voting systems currently in use.