Indiana: 1st paper audit trail for election machines OK’d | Niki Kelly/The Journal Gazette

The Indiana Election Commission recently approved the first voter-verifiable paper audit trail for electronic voting systems — though it’s unclear when Allen County might see the mechanism. The VVPAT, as it is called by election officials, is a security measure that allows voters to independently verify their vote was correctly recorded. In Indiana, almost half the counties use direct record electronic machines. There is a paper trail in the back of the machines, but it is not visible to the voter. As a security measure, paper trails that are visible to the voter are being added to those machines. Lawmakers provided $10 million in the current budget to equip 10% of electronic voting equipment with a VVPAT. Voters will start seeing the equipment at the polls this fall, according to the Secretary of State’s office. By 2029, all voting equipment in the state will be required to have a voter verifiable paper trail.

Indiana: Paper trails for electronic voting equipment approved by Election Commission | The Statehouse File

The Indiana Election Commission on Monday approved the state’s first voter electronic voting system with a verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT), which will allow voters to confirm that their votes have been correctly recorded. Direct record electronic machines are currently used in almost half the counties of Indiana. With these machines, there is a paper trail located in the back, but not visible to the voters. With the new security measure, voters will now be able to view the paper trails when they are added to the electronic voting equipment. “Adding VVPATs to election equipment will help boost voter confidence and allow us to implement risk limiting audits,” said Secretary of State Connie Lawson in a news release. “Together, these practices will show voters at the polls their vote is safe and secure and following up with a post-election audit will confirm their vote was counted.”

Indiana: Johnson County to change election equipment before May Primary | FOX59

The Johnson County Election Board and Commissioners are cutting ties with software vendor that caused system crashes which resulted in thousands of voters waiting in lines for hours during the November 6 election. The Johnson County Commissioners voted Monday to adopt Election Board recommendations that the county terminate its contract with Omaha-based Election Systems and Software. “We just want to ensure that we have a good election,” said Johnson County Clerk Trena McGlaughlin.  “We don’t want to have any issues this year.  And we want to make everyone happy.” An investigation by Ball State’s VSTOP team, for the Indiana Secretary of State, determined ES&S systems were not properly set up for the high voter turnout the county saw on election day.  A system slow-down quickly brought voting to a standstill at multiple voting sites across the county.  Thousands of voters were left waiting in line for several hours as election officials and technical advisors struggled to get e-poll books back up to speed.

Indiana: Counties could be required to have paper trail for voting by 2024 | Indianapolis Business Journal

A bill that would require counties using electronic voting systems to also maintain a paper trail is moving forward at the Indiana General Assembly. Senate Bill 570, authored by Columbus Republican Greg Walker, would require counties to have a voter-verifiable paper trail in addition to any electronic system the county uses. Indiana Election Division Co-Director Brad King said a voter-verifiable paper trail would work much the way an ATM generates a paper receipt to reflect a transaction. He said about half of Indiana counties already have such systems.  But those who don’t use the systems already could face costly upgrades.

Indiana: Lawmakers move redistricting bill that would leave them in control of maps | Indianapolis Business Journal

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder before the Senate Elections Committee, members of the Indiana Coalition for Independent Redistricting urged lawmakers on Monday to approve new standards for the way they draw maps for the state’s legislative and congressional seats. They held blue-and-gold “All IN for Democracy” picket signs and office clocks raised high, as the coalition members waited more than two hours to voice one central demand: that legislators put an end to what they call partisan gerrymandering. “Gerrymandering is no longer an art. It is a science,” said 17-year-old Christian Omoruyi, a senior at Columbus East High School. “Politicians have surgically manipulated district boundaries to ingratiate themselves with the kulaks of the party machine.”

Indiana: Johnson County looks to switch e-poll book vendors, but ES&S won’t pay | Daily Journal

The Johnson County Clerk’s Office is looking into switching e-pollbook vendors before the May primary, but the clock is ticking. Electronic pollbooks, which poll workers use to check in voters at vote centers and make sure they have the right ballot, failed on Election Day, and the county last week asked its long-time vendor, Election Systems and Software, to cover the costs of purchasing new e-pollbooks from a different vendor while continuing to use ES & S’s voting machines. “We have asked (ES & S) to pay for it, but as of right now, they have not committed to that,” County Clerk Trena McLaughlin said on Thursday. “We’re going to have to do something.” McLaughlin and her staff are now weighing the other options because the county needs new e-pollbooks, she said. Election Systems and Software promised it would make things right with the county after it failed more than 52,000 Johnson County voters in November, but so far has not delivered on that promise.

Indiana: Election fixes: Officials exploring how to proceed after report says ES&S violated law | Daily Journal

More details about the fixes put in place on Election Day in November when voting technology failed to perform have come to light, and officials are asking the county commissioners to adopt a detailed list of mostly technical and financial suggestions about what to do in the future. Election Systems & Software is still the county’s election vendor, and will be providing services in the municipal elections in May and November of this year, according to its current contract with the county. But whether the county will retain the company for future elections has not been determined.

Indiana: Johnson County to decide what to do about ES&S in coming week | Daily Journal

With the primary election less than seven weeks away, county officials will decide in the coming week whether to stick with its long-time election vendor, which broke state election laws and disenfranchised voters in November. The three-member county election board, including newly elected County Clerk Trena McLaughlin, met privately with the three-member Board of Commissioners on Monday to discuss what to do moving forward, after the Secretary of State’s Office released a report that placed all of the blame in last year’s election on Election Systems & Software, a vendor multiple Indiana counties depend on for voting equipment. The company has provided equipment, software and technology for Johnson County elections for nearly two decades. The elected county clerk and an appointed election board manage how elections are conducted in the county, but the commissioners must approve any big ticket expenses.

Indiana: Governor asks for $10 million to improve election security | WSBT

Indiana’s governor is asking for $10 million to improve election security. Most of that would upgrade electronic touch screens with what’s called a voter verifiable ballot. That’s essentially a traditional paper ballot in case questions come up later. The $10 million request made by Governor Holcomb is part of a pilot program. It would initially pay for a few counties to use the new system. The hope is that the voter verifiable ballot would eventually be used by all Indiana counties. “This is much needed and is a start as we move towards that upgrade that is going to happen over the next several years,” said Chris Anderson, Elkhart county clerk.

Indiana: Report: ES&S’s Johnson County voting ‘work-around’ violated election law | Indianapolis Star

Technical glitches and computer crashes led to long lines at Johnson County vote centers on Election Day, but the quick fix used to remedy the problem left the county open to fraud. It also violated election law because it cut off information sharing between polling sites, according to a preliminary investigation report released by the Secretary of State’s office. “I want to let the voters of Johnson County know that what happened is unacceptable,” said Johnson County Clerk Trena McLaughlin, who took office on Jan. 1. “The voters deserve more, and we are definitely going to get this issue resolved.”

Indiana: Scathing report finds ES&S violated state election laws | WXIN

A preliminary report investigating computer problems at voting centers across Johnson and other counties resulted from poor preparation and resulted in Indiana election laws being violated. The report was prepared for the Indiana Secretary of State by Ball State’s Voting System Technical Oversight Program, or VSTOP. The 20-page report examines, in great detail, all the things that went wrong on election day, resulting in thousands of Johnson County voters waiting in line for hours on November 6. The VSTOP report claims Johnson County’s election software vendor, ES&S inadequately anticipated server needs on election day, and did not have their systems properly set up to handle the high voter turnout seen around the county. “The situation which occurred in Johnson is unacceptable for any Indiana electronic poll book vendor,” the report states. “The responsibility for what occurred rests on the shoulders of ES&S.”

Indiana: Election Day voter registration proposed in Indiana | Post-Tribune

Proposed legislation would allow Indiana residents to register to vote on Election Day. Sen. Timothy Lanane, D-Anderson, has filed the bill for the legislative session beginning Jan. 3, and it has drawn mixed reactions in Northwest Indiana along party lines. “Once again, I am filing a proposal to allow for same-day voter registration in Indiana. Requiring Hoosiers to register to vote 29 days before an election is an unnecessary obstacle for people to exercise their constitutional right to vote,”

Indiana: Secretary of State investigates Johnson County’s Election Day voting delays | WTHR

Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson wants to figure out what went wrong on Election Day in Johnson County. Problems with voter check-in led to long lines and waits for voters. Lawson is investigating issues with the electronic poll books provided by Election Systems and Software. Susie Misiniec hoped her last election after eight years as Johnson County clerk would go smoothly. “Everything was going great until about 9:45 (a.m.),” said Misiniec. “Then we started experiencing a slow down and it just kept slowing down with our electronic poll books. We had so many people that were voting and that slowed that entire process of issuing a ballot. So, it was really overwhelming to all of us. We were really unhappy that that happened.” The voting machines worked fine. But computer tablets used to check in voters and issue ballots suffered data transmission problems. Voters waited up to three hours in line.

Indiana: Multiple Indiana voting laws on trial in federal court | The Indiana Lawyer

Indianapolis attorney Robbin Stewart was raised to value the right to vote. In his home state of Delaware, Stewart watched his mother work as a citizen lobbyist to protect the environment, and he got his first taste of political activism when as a 10-year-old he joined the campaign of a man running for state representative. He earned his J.D. degree in 1993 at the University of Missouri School of Law and then completed an LLM on state constitutions and voting rights at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. However, since 2005, when Indiana started requiring voters to show their picture before casting a ballot, Stewart has had trouble. He wants to vote, but he does not want to show his photo ID.

Indiana: Late absentee ballots, early voting errors and lack of staff among red flags preceding ‘chaos’ of Porter County election | Chicago Tribune

Sundae Schoon, the Republican director in Porter County’s voter registration office, started worrying about how the county’s midterm general election was being handled in late September. “There was such an influx of (requests for) absentee ballots coming in,” she said, adding there were only two people in Clerk Karen Martin’s office to handle them. By the Saturday before the Nov. 6 election, her concerns grew deeper, because the suitcases for precinct inspectors weren’t ready to be picked up. Many inspectors pick up the supplies that day if they can’t get them the day before the election. She began to wonder. “If that’s not ready, what else isn’t?” she said, adding she called David Bengs, president of the election board, about the suitcases and he directed her to do whatever needed to be done to get them ready.

Indiana: Porter County voting results released 3 days after election; officials call for clerk’s resignation | Chicago Tribune

In light of a lengthy list of election woes for Porter County’s midterm election, including a preliminary tally of results that wasn’t complete until Friday, the Porter County Board of Commissioners and two members of the County Council are asking for the immediate resignation of Clerk Karen Martin. Commissioners made their request after election board officials announced the results were online during a sometimes heated news conference. “Under normal circumstances, the board of commissioners would have never suggested anything like that. I think Karen’s conduct after Tuesday night is what convinced us that something had to be done,” said Commissioner Jim Biggs, R-North. “Being MIA at a time when her leadership was at its highest need – short of someone taking my legs from me, I would have been there. I would have had to be there. It was unfortunate but it needed to be said.”

Indiana: FBI asked to investigate Porter County’s trouble with counting votes | Indianapolis Star

The commissioners in a northwestern Indiana county plagued by a mix of Election Day problems asked the FBI on Wednesday to investigate what they called “scores of alleged violations of Indiana Election Law” reported following Tuesday’s election. Porter County has released no election results, and officials did not begin counting votes until Wednesday morning, more than 15 hours after the first polling places closed. The delay was holding up final election results in three state legislative races, those for House districts 4 and 19 and Senate District 7. The commissioners’ office said in a statement late Wednesday afternoon that the commissioners had asked the FBI to investigate the alleged election violations reported “by poll workers, voters and the public.” The commissioners’ statement did not specify what those alleged violations involved.

Indiana: Early voters complain faulty machines switch votes | Journal & Courier

After waiting a half-hour in line Saturday afternoon on the first of eight days of early voting at the Pay Less Super Market in West Lafayette, Sundeep Rao couldn’t figure out why every time he touched the screen for a candidate labeled “D” for Democrat, an X went into the box next to one with an “R” for Republican. Rao, an information technology director from West Lafayette, was familiar enough with older touch screen technology to back out of the incorrect choice, only to find that it took two or three tries to uncheck one box and position his finger in such a way to make his choice the right way. He said he hadn’t experienced that problem in previous elections, but once he figured out the pattern, he made his way through the ballot. A few voting booths over, he heard Robin Pickett, his wife, muttering under her breath about having the same problem.

Indiana: If you’re an Indiana voter, you may have been purged… and this website will help you find out | Salon

If you’re an Indiana voter, you may have been removed from the voting rolls of your state and don’t even know it. In order to find out whether you were stripped of your constitutional right to vote, there is a website you can check out here. “You put in your first name and last name, we send you back your full address. If that’s you, you go right to the Indiana Secretary of State’s office by — I hope you can register online, I believe you can — and reregister online. You have today to do it. That’s it,” Greg Palast, a reporter for prestigious outlets ranging from Rolling Stone and The Guardian to BBC Newsnight, told Salon. So what happened? Apparently, Palast’s reporting unearthed the fact that 469,000 voters in Indiana had been removed from the voting rolls — and at least 20,000 of them lost their right to vote because a court order was blatantly violated.

Indiana: Glitches with voter registration system raise worries about absentee applications | South Bend Tribune

Problems with a state computer server have left two Michiana county clerks frustrated and concerned about their ability to process mail-in absentee ballot application requests in time for the Nov. 6 elections. Ann Tito, a 71-year-old South Bend woman who is typically homebound because of her cancer, said a St. Joseph County clerk’s office employee told her over the phone that she would soon receive an application in the mail to absentee vote from home. When she still hadn’t received the application two weeks later, Tito, beginning to worry that she wouldn’t be able to vote in time, said she had her caregiver drive her downtown Wednesday to vote in person at the County-City Building. “I took my walker and my cane and got there at 8 o’clock when they opened so I would have the best chance of finding a parking place,” Tito said. “It was difficult physically for me to do it, but it was a lot better than waiting in line on Nov. 6 for unknown amount of time. This election is critical. We need to stand up for what we believe in and vote.”

Indiana: Counties Urged To Switch To Voting Machines With Paper Trails Before November Elections | WBIW

Two-thirds of Indiana counties use electronic voting machines which do not leave a paper record. Democrats want to replace them before the November election. Computer researchers led by IU president Michael McRobbie urged states to insist on voting machines with paper trails by 2020, and preferably this year. State Democratic Chairman John Zody says Virginia replaced machines on short notice last year and says it’s important enough to be worth the $25 million dollar expense.

Indiana: Party leaders throw barbs over replacing state’s voting machines | WISH

Indiana Democrats want to replace the state’s voting machines, all in the name of election security. The nonpartisan nonprofit Verified Voting created a map of the myriad of equipment that will be used in Indiana counties on Nov. 6. Marion County and Vigo County will use paper ballots. Others will use use a mix of electronic and paper machines. Most counties, including Allen and Vanderburgh, are all electronic. Indiana’s Democratic Party Chairman John Zody said he wants all of Indiana’s 92 counties to use voting machines that leave a paper trail.

Indiana: Cybersecurity concerns persist as Election Day nears | WTHI

Voters are, once again, preparing to head to the ballot box as concerns over election tampering persist. Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson says she is taking steps to ensure every vote is protected but her opponent Jim Harper insists more should be done. The Republican incumbent recently announced plans to use more than $7.5 million in federal funding to beef up election security but the Democrat challenger says it’s a mistake the plan does not include improvements to voting machines. News 10 spoke with candidate Jim Harper while he was in Terre Haute speaking with voters and stumping with other Democrat candidates. Harper says voting machines should be replaced so there is a “paper trail.” He explains votes should be cast on paper ballots or voters should be given a verified receipt. Not every Indiana election machine issues receipts.

Indiana: Election security plans don’t include new machines | The Hour

Indiana’s top elections official is planning to use more than $7.5 million in federal funding on improving the state’s election security but won’t upgrade its voting machines. Republican Secretary of State Connie Lawson has announced plans for using the federal assistance to strengthen voting systems ahead of the November election. Indiana was among the states and territories to receive money from the $380 million approved by Congress amid ongoing threats from Russia and others. Indiana will also spend an additional $659,000 on election security under the requirement to match 5 percent of grant funding with state money, The Indianapolis Star reported. The state money will go toward evaluating election infrastructure, conducting third-party testing, implementing email encryption and training state and county officials, according to Lawson.

Indiana: New campaign to increase awareness of Indiana voting security launched | Wash Times Herald

If the Indiana election system were human, it would be the “healthiest 200-year-old you’ll ever find,” according to a radio ad released Monday by the office of Secretary of State Connie Lawson. The audio is part of a $500,000 campaign by Lawson’s office in partnership with an Indianapolis marketing firm to increase public awareness around cybersecurity, voting and the relationship between the two ahead of the Nov. 6 general election. “In Indiana, the security of our voting system is of the utmost importance. This public awareness campaign demonstrates to voters that proper precautions are in place to secure their vote,” Lawson said in the campaign announcement. “We take great care to prepare our election administrators for each cycle, and in partnership with counties, other states, and the federal government we are developing new answers to security concerns and election policy.”

Indiana: Federal judge rejects Attorney General’s attempt to scrap early voting decree | The Herald Times

A federal judge Thursday rejected Attorney General Curtis Hill’s attempt to unravel the consent decree reached earlier this summer requiring Marion County to establish satellite voting sites in November and in future elections. Senior Judge Sarah Evans Barker said Hill’s objections to the consent decree reached between the county election board and Common Cause of Indiana and the local branch of the NAACP are without merit. Common Cause and the NAACP sued last year to require Marion County to provide more than one location for voters to cast ballots in advance of the election. The consent decree requires the election board to have six satellite voting sites in November.

Indiana: Voting system susceptible to Russian election hacking, experts say | Indianapolis Star

Indiana is one of 13 states without a paper ballot backup for all its voting machines, and an infusion of federal funds aimed at correcting that and other problems with state voting systems likely won’t fully correct the situation. State and county officials have yet to decide how to spend Indiana’s share of $380 million made available to states this year after the federal government detailed the way Russia tried to interfere with the 2016 election. The interference included attempts to target the election systems of at least 21 states. The $7.6 million Indiana is eligible for is not enough to purchase new equipment and, by one independent estimate, would cover at most one-third of the cost of replacing the paperless balloting machines.

Indiana: Federal judge blocks Indiana from enforcing voter purge law | Reuters

A federal judge on Friday blocked the state of Indiana from enforcing a 2017 law allowing election officials to remove voters from the rolls if they were flagged by a controversial tracking system. U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt ruled in a legal challenge brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Common Cause Indiana and other groups that the legislation violates the National Voter Registration Act and threatens to disenfranchise eligible voters. “The court agrees with Common Cause that the greater public interest is in allowing eligible voters to exercise their right to vote without being disenfranchised without notice,” Pratt wrote in her 28-page ruling.

Indiana: Ballot Scanner Mishap Looms Over Dearborn County Elections | Eagle 99.3

Dearborn County Clerk of Courts Gayle Pennington confirmed Tuesday night that most of the county’s ballot scanning machines were disabled by dead batteries on Primary Election Day. “We did our testing a few weeks ago. We sent our machines out (to polling places) over the weekend. Our inspectors had their (battery) packs. They went out and the batteries were dead in their packs,” Pennington told Eagle Country 99.3 following the final vote total. Only about 11 of the 45 machines at the 45 voting precincts throughout the county were operational Tuesday, the clerk added. The vendor for the county’s new ballot scanning machines – used for the first time in an election Tuesday – is Election Systems and Software. Regarding the batteries, Pennington said they were new in November 2017 and were supposed to have a five-year lifespan.

Indiana: Lawsuit challenging Indiana law that forces voting precinct consolidation in Lake County could soon be dismissed | Post-Tribune

A lawsuit over a state law forcing the consolidation of small voting precincts in Lake County could soon be dismissed, an official said Friday. Lawyers representing the Indiana State Conference of the NAACP and a group of Lake County voters asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit that said the forced consolidation of voting precincts could hamper Lake County residents’ rights. Jim Wieser, chairman of the Lake Democratic Central Committee, said there is no plan showing how precincts would be consolidated, so attorneys thought it would be best to dismiss the litigation until a proposal is put together. “Without a plan, it’s hard to argue in a court of law,” Wieser said.