Wisconsin: Legal Fight Over Wisconsin Primary Reaches State High Court | Joe Kelly/Courthouse News

Officials from a liberal-leaning Wisconsin county accused state Republicans of playing politics Monday in response to a petition filed in the state’s highest court challenging the county clerk’s decision to waive photo ID requirements for absentee ballots in next week’s primary in light of Covid-19 disruptions. Mark Jefferson, executive director of the Wisconsin Republican Party, asked the state supreme court on Friday to review Dane County Clerk Scott McDonnell’s decision to allow certain voters to request and cast absentee ballots without presenting a photo ID, which was made on the basis that these voters are “indefinitely confined” due to the coronavirus outbreak and the various lockdown measures enacted to slow its spread. Republicans contend that clerks have no legal authority to waive the photo ID requirement and argued in their petition that “without this court’s intervention, the upcoming election will take place under two sets of different rules—one for voters in Dane County, and one for voters in the rest of the state.” The state GOP’s petition makes a grand total of five separate lawsuits brought in the last two weeks over how to proceed with Wisconsin’s April 7 primary election as the Covid-19 pandemic snarls governments and volatile markets and upends civic life across the globe. As of Monday afternoon, Wisconsin reported nearly 1,200 confirmed cases of Covid-19, including 18 deaths.

Wisconsin: ‘Your Health or the Right to Vote’: A Battle in Wisconsin as Its Primary Nears | Nick Corasaniti and Stephanie Saul/The New York Times

With April elections rapidly approaching in Wisconsin, local officials were issuing stark warnings about holding in-person voting amid the escalating coronavirus outbreak, saying the state was forcing voters to choose between their health and their constitutional right to vote. For weeks, both the Democratic governor and Republican lawmakers remained unmoved, pledging to keep the polls open even as other states postponed elections. But on Friday, as the coronavirus cases in the state topped 700, Gov. Tony Evers reversed his position, instead requesting that absentee ballots be sent to every one of the state’s 3.3 million registered voters ahead of its April 7 presidential primary. The sudden request to print and mail millions of ballots in less than two weeks, a task Republican leaders in the state immediately dismissed as impossible, is the latest example of how the pandemic is roiling democratic institutions as states across the country scramble to protect voters and poll workers.

Wisconsin: Spring election still on for April 7 despite a chaotic week of political, legal wrangling | Mitchell Schmidt/Wisconsin State Journal

The spring presidential primary and Supreme Court election remain on track to take place April 7, but a flurry of related activity Friday left major concerns about the safety and practicality of holding the election as scheduled unresolved. With lawsuits continuing to mount, Gov. Tony Evers on Friday called on the Legislature to send an absentee ballot to every registered voter in the state to minimize in-person voting during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic — a request that drew a quick rebuke from GOP leaders. On Friday evening the Wisconsin Elections Commission approved Election Day procedures to mitigate the risks, including curbside, drive-through and outdoor options at polling places. Procedures to limit contact between voters and poll workers also were approved. The commission also recommended that anyone over the age of 65 and those with underlying health problems not serve as poll workers, a move that would drastically cut the already limited supply of poll workers in the state. In other developments, a federal judge tossed out a lawsuit filed by the city of Green Bay seeking to delay the election because of a shortage of poll workers and concerns about the respiratory disease. And the Republican Party of Wisconsin asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to intervene in Dane and Milwaukee counties, where clerks have advised voters they can indicate they are indefinitely confined to avoid uploading a photo ID when voting absentee, something a nonpartisan legislative agency warned could be unlawful.

Wisconsin: GOP Calls Evers’ Mass Ballot Mailing Idea ‘Complete Fantasy’ | Todd Richmond/Associated Press

Wisconsin Republicans signaled Friday that they have no interest in postponing or adjusting the state’s April 7 presidential primary despite the coronavirus threat, branding Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ call for the Legislature to send absentee ballots to every registered voter a “complete fantasy.” Evers called on Republican legislative leaders to convene quickly and change the state’s election statutes to allow for the mass-mailing and to give local clerks more time to count ballots. But Evers and Republicans have been at odds since he took office in January 2019, and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald’s response to his request was all but expected. “Governor Evers just proposed procuring, printing, verifying and mandating the mailing of millions of ballots within 10 days,” Fitzgerald said in a statement. “Even he knows that’s not logistically feasible. The clerks of this state should know this is a complete fantasy. The Legislature on both sides of the aisle has to know this is ridiculous.” Evers’ spokeswoman, Melissa Baldauff, had no immediate comment on Fitzgerald’s statement. Earlier Friday, she said Evers was prepared to call the Legislature into special session to authorize the mailing but that he first wanted to try to reach consensus with Fitzgerald and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. Both have said they want the election to take place as scheduled.

Wisconsin: Two more lawsuits filed over April 7 election seeking to change how and when people vote during coronavirus | Patrick Marley/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Wisconsin’s chaotic spring election got even more unpredictable Thursday as two new lawsuits were filed attempting to alter voting rules because of the coronavirus pandemic that has forced people to stay at home. The lawsuits — the third and fourth to be filed over the April 7 election — come as clerks scramble to figure out how to safely run an election when they are short on poll workers and hand sanitizer and health officials say people should stay at least six feet from each other. One of the new lawsuits, led by voter mobilization group Souls to the Polls, seeks to put off the election for weeks or months. It’s in line with a lawsuit Green Bay’s clerk filed this week to postpone the election. The other suit filed Thursday seeks to allow people to cast absentee ballots without having to get a witness to sign their voting certificate. The barrage of litigation comes after the Democratic National Committee sued last week to try to extend absentee voting. That resulted in an order that reinstated online voter registration until March 30. U.S. District Judge William Conley will rule later on other aspects of that case. On the April 7 ballot is the presidential primary, a victims rights amendment to the state constitution and a seat on the state Supreme Court. Also up for election are local offices around the state, including Milwaukee mayor and Milwaukee County executive.

Wisconsin: Frustration over refusal to delay April 7 election spurs lawsuit | Todd Richmond/Associated Press

Local officials’ frustration with Gov. Tony Evers’ refusal to order any changes to Wisconsin’s presidential primary to protect people from the coronavirus reached new heights as the city of Green Bay sued to stop in-person voting and leaders in River Falls questioned how the election can proceed. The virus has infected nearly 600 people in Wisconsin and killed seven. Models show that without stricter social distancing measures, as many as 22,000 people could contract the virus and as many as 1,500 could die by April 8. The April 7 election features a Wisconsin Supreme Court race and hundreds of local races, in addition to the presidential primary. A number of states have postponed their presidential primaries, but Evers, a Democrat, has refused to delay Wisconsin’s election. Many local officials’ terms end in mid-April and delaying the election would leave those offices vacant, the governor has said. Republican legislative leaders said Wednesday they want the election to go on as scheduled as well and maintain that Evers can’t unilaterally adjust its parameters.

Wisconsin: Groups want mail-only election, Governor’s order’s effect unclear | Todd Richmond/Associated Press

Voting advocacy groups and the mayor of Wisconsin’s largest city on Tuesday urged Gov. Tony Evers to close polling sites and conduct the state’s spring election entirely by mail to protect voters and a dwindling pool of election workers from the coronavirus. Evers has refused calls to postpone the April 7 election in the face of the crisis. The election features the state’s presidential primary, a state Supreme Court race and hundreds of races for local office. Most local officials terms expire April 21 and delaying the election could leave those spots vacant, Evers has argued. However, the governor said Monday he was considering conducting the election entirely by mail. The governor on Tuesday issued an executive order restricting all nonessential travel and mandating all nonessential businesses to close. It’s unclear how the order applies to the election. It includes pages of exemptions but doesn’t mention elections. Wisconsin Elections Commission spokesman Reid Magney said he didn’t know if the order prohibits in-person voting. The governor dodged questions about how the order might apply to elections during his now-daily conference call with reporters to discuss efforts to stop the virus.

Wisconsin: Election Officials Across Wisconsin Eliminate, Scale Back In-Person Early Voting | Laurel White/Wisconsin Public Radio

Some Wisconsin communities, including Milwaukee and Madison, are shutting down or sharply cutting back in-person early voting locations for the state’s April 7 election as the new coronavirus continues to spread in the state. The moves come as election officials continue to grapple with challenges posed by the virus and some groups call for the election to be postponed. Officials have for weeks been urging voters to request mail-in ballots for the election. The deadline for requesting a mail-in ballot online or by mail is April 2; the deadline for their return is 8 p.m. on Election Day. Milwaukee announced Sunday its three in-person early voting sites — Zablocki Library, the Zeidler Municipal Building, and the Midtown Center — would close effective immediately, citing challenges with maintaining adequate staffing levels at the sites. “We’re having more and more workers at our early election sites who are declining to come in,” Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said on a call with reporters Monday morning. “And they are making, in most cases, the prudent decision by not coming in.”  Many polling place workers are over 60 years old, which puts them at higher risk of contracting the new coronavirus.

Wisconsin: Governor Considering Making Spring Election Mail-Only | Todd Richmond/Associated Press

Gov. Tony Evers said Monday that he’s considering allowing people to vote in Wisconsin’s spring election only by mail in order to protect voters and poll workers from the coronavirus. The April 7 election includes the state’s presidential primary, a state Supreme Court race and hundreds of races for local office. Several states have postponed their presidential primaries to prevent people from congregating at the polls and spreading the virus, but Evers has thus far insisted that Wisconsin’s take place as scheduled and has been urging people to vote by mailing in absentee ballots to avoid the polls. Evers told reporters during a conference call on efforts to control the virus that he still wants all eligible voters to cast absentee ballots. Later in the call, he was asked if he would consider restricting voting to mail-in absentee ballot only. He said his administration was “evaluating” that option but that “the message is still stay at home (and) vote by mail.” State elections officials have warned Evers’ administration that holding a traditional election on April 7 would be fraught with problems ranging from poll workers refusing to show up to a lack of hand sanitizer at the polls. On Monday, the state elections commission put out a call seeking people to replace older poll workers.

Wisconsin: Judge sides with Democrats, re-opens online registration | Scott Bauer/Associated Press

A federal judge ordered that Wisconsin reinstate online voter registration to make it possible for more people to cast absentee ballots ahead of the April 7 presidential primary and spring election, handing Democrats who sought even broader changes in light of the coronavirus pandemic a partial victory. U.S. District Judge William Conley issued the ruling Friday night, just hours after both sides submitted written arguments. The state and national Democratic parties brought the lawsuit and were opposed by Republicans who control the state Legislature as well as the Wisconsin and national Republican parties. Under state law, the deadline for Wisconsin voters to register online to cast absentee ballots was Wednesday. But Conley ruled that the state must open online registration again because of disruptions to daily lives caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. The Wisconsin Elections Commission said in a statement late Friday night that it was working to comply with the court’s order and reopen online registration “as soon as we can make and test the changes to our systems. ”

Wisconsin: Democrats sue to extend deadlines for online voter registration and counting absentee ballots | Patrick Marley/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Democrats sued Wisconsin election officials Wednesday to extend absentee balloting for the April 7 presidential primary because the coronavirus pandemic has confined many people to their homes. The lawsuit by the Democratic National Committee and the state Democratic Party also seeks to drop a requirement that voters provide a copy of their photo ID when they request absentee ballots. The lawsuit is also aimed at giving people more time to use the web to register to vote — and to do so without providing proof of residence. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Madison, argues that some of Wisconsin’s voting laws should be set aside because the world is in the grip of a pandemic that has forced voters to stay at home.  “In this unprecedented situation, the regulatory scheme (for the election) has become hostile to voting rights and, as a direct result, thousands of Wisconsin voters are likely to be disenfranchised,” attorney Marc Elias wrote in his filing.

Wisconsin: Delaying Wisconsin’s April 7 presidential primary amid coronavirus pandemic would be difficult | Patrick Marley/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Top Wisconsin officials so far are not advocating for postponing the April 7 presidential primary because of the coronoavirus pandemic, and doing so would be much more difficult here than it has been in other states. Louisiana and Georgia last week postponed their presidential primaries amid fears of the deadly outbreak sweeping the globe. Wisconsin officials have not taken similar steps, and there may be no easy way to do it here, experts in election laws said. The cleanest way to do it would be for the Legislature to pass a law changing the election date. That would require Republicans who control the Legislature and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to get on the same page — something they have rarely been able to do. Evers said Monday he was not considering delaying the election “at this time,” even as he banned gatherings of more than 50 people. “We’re hoping to hold it on the date if we possibly can,” he told reporters. He made his comment as Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced he would bring a lawsuit to try to extend his state’s primary, which is scheduled for Tuesday, to June 2. Three other states — Arizona, Florida, and Illinois — are supposed to have presidential primaries on Tuesday.

Wisconsin: Election officials warn 6 communities of outdated systems | Patrick Marley/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Warning of the risk of hacking, Wisconsin election officials voted Thursday to publicly scold six communities if they do not quickly upgrade outdated computer systems. The state Elections Commission last year made more than $1 million available to clerks to update their computers, but not all of them took advantage of the funds. The commission has identified 10 computers in six communities that aren’t up to date, making them more susceptible to cyberattacks. The commissioners have declined to name those communities, but with their 5-0 vote Thursday that could change. The commissioners said they would tell the communities to upgrade their systems or be publicly outed. The commission will make federal funds available to them to help pay for the upgrades, which are expected to cost a few thousand dollars.

Wisconsin: Microsoft to deploy ElectionGuard voting software for the first time tomorrow | Catalin Cimpanu/ZDNet

Tomorrow, on February 18, residents of Fulton, Wisconsin will elect representatives for the Wisconsin Supreme Court via voting machines that will be running Microsoft’s ElectionGuard software. These will be the first voting machines deployed in any US election that will be running Microsoft’s new voting software, which will face it’s first real-world test since being announced last year. ElectionGuard is a software development kit (SDK) that Microsoft made available for free on GitHub. The project’s goal was to create the voting software that uses strong encryption, was built by some of the world’s brightest cryptographers, and was extensively audited for bugs. Microsoft created ElectionGuard after numerous media reports over the past years about critical vulnerabilities being discovered in the (closed-source) software of multiple voting machine vendors. The OS maker purposely released ElectionGuard as open-source in an attempt to convince voting machine vendors to adopt it instead of their older obsolete and insecure systems. The project, which is viewed with optimism by US election officials, moved lightning-fast, going from a simple idea to an actual US election pilot program in only nine months.

Wisconsin: Microsoft tests new voting technology in a small Wisconsin town | Bill Glauber/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Voters in the Town of Fulton, which is 8 miles north of Janesville in Rock County, gave Microsoft’s ElectionGuard software a tryout. ElectionGuard enables voters to verify that their ballot was counted through generating a ballot tracking code. The software also provides encrypted results. VotingWorks, a nonprofit voting software company, supplied the voting equipment, which consisted of card readers, tablets, ballot marking devices and printers. The process appeared seamless. After checking in, voters received a key card to insert into a tablet. They then selected candidates on a touch screen. They printed the ballot and placed it in the ballot box. They received a second printed piece of paper that provided a tracking code that they could use later to verify that their vote was counted, by logging into a Microsoft website.  The verification system does not allow the voter, or anyone else for that matter, to see who they voted for. Although it was the first time the software was used in an election, this was just a test. All of the paper ballots voters cast were to be hand-counted by local election officials.

Wisconsin: Cities Still Recovering From January Cyberattacks | Miranda Suarez/Wisconsin Public Radio

Two Wisconsin cities are still recovering after they were hit with ransomware in January, and one state official predicts those kinds of attacks will only get worse in the future. Ransomware is a kind of cyberattack that locks governments or companies out of their data, usually demanding money in exchange for access. It often enters a system through phishing emails, which contain a shady link or attachment. Ransomware shut down internal computer systems, like email, in Oshkosh and Racine on Jan. 28 and Jan. 31, respectively. Oshkosh city spokesperson Emily Springstroh said the city is mostly back online, but they don’t know yet how the virus got in.

Wisconsin: Racine suffers cyberattack, early voting still going on but meetings canceled | Adam Rogan/Journal Times

It’s been one week since the city’s computer systems were frozen by ransomware and City Hall is slowly returning to the 21st Century. The city’s website went back online Tuesday, but links to other parts of the city’s computer systems — such as email or online bill payment — are not working. Because of the technical challenges, city meetings scheduled for Monday and Tuesday have been canceled, including Finance and Personnel, Public Safety and Licensing and Public Works and Services committees. … Citywide, there is a primary for Wisconsin Supreme Court; there also is a primary for Racine’s 4th Aldermanic District. The city’s insurer, Cities and Villages Municipal Insurance, has commissioned Stroz Friedberg to do a forensic analysis of the computer systems and assist the Management Information Systems Department with “wiping” each computer and making sure no trace of the malware is left before reconnecting it with the system. “That’s a time-consuming process,” said city spokesman Shannon Powell. “They have to be really thorough.” Computers still work, but pretty much anything involving the internet has been blocked. Email? Doesn’t work. Paying fines? Needs to be check or cash. Voicemail? Useless.

Wisconsin: Election officials look to launch security outreach plan | Todd Richmond/Associated Press

Wisconsin officials are considering spending more than a quarter of a million dollars on a public relations push to reassure voters that elections in the state are secure after nearly three-quarters of respondents to a survey this fall said they were worried about threats. Wisconsin Elections Commission staffers planned to ask the six commissioners Tuesday for permission to spend $260,000 to hire Madison-based advertising firm KW2 to develop the campaign, which could include online content, videos, news releases and graphics. The money would come from a $7 million federal grant the state received in 2018 to bolster election security. The commission has already hired KW2 to research voter impressions on election security. Those efforts are expected to cost about $140,000. That money will also come from the federal grant. The firm conducted an online survey in October of 1,116 Wisconsin adults’ impressions of election security. Less than a third of respondents — 29% — said they had confidence in election security nationally. More than half — 54% — said they had confidence in state elections.

Wisconsin: ‘Model’ disability rights voting program has declined | Rory Linnane/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Despite the clamor to turn out Wisconsin voters in 2020, some voters might be stopped at the doors of their polling places. Auditors have flagged hundreds of violations at Wisconsin polls that make it harder or impossible for voters with disabilities to vote in person. A Journal Sentinel review of audits found officials are missing required action plans to fix most of these issues from the last two years. Though Wisconsin once had a robust program for monitoring accessibility problems at polls — one that was lauded as a best practice by a presidential commission in 2014 — state officials have let it wane. Since the recognition, officials have missed audits, been slow to follow up on accessibility violations and provided fewer supplies to help polling places become more accessible. “This dramatic decrease in the audit program is troubling as these audits provide critical information on the accessibility of polling places around the state,” said Denise Jess, executive director of the Wisconsin Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired. Jess serves on an advisory committee for the Wisconsin Elections Commission, which runs the accessibility program. She and other disability rights advocates on the committee want to see the commission do more to address problems that shut out voters with disabilities.

Wisconsin: Heading Into 2020, Election Security In Wisconsin Remains At Forefront | Maayan Silver/WUWM

In this tech-heavy world, it’s a new landscape when it comes to election security. Nation states like Russia could be poised to hack voting machines or systems. And Wisconsin clerks in small towns and municipalities — often with no information technology department — must make sure elections are secure. So, over the last few years, the Wisconsin Elections Commission has implemented more election security measures. They include: a cybersecurity training program, multifactor authentication for people who access the state election management system and voter list (WisVote), and a grant program where qualified election clerks get up to $1,200 in federal funding to buy new computers or update operating systems. At Monday’s meeting of the commission, administrator Meagan Wolfe summarized her staff’s efforts for election commissioners: “One of the major ones is alerting and educating clerks about the importance of having a .gov email address or an HTTPS website, especially for our county clerks,” she says.

Wisconsin: Voters with disabilities face barriers at the polls | Rory Linnane/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A sign on a door reading “handicapped entrance, knock hard.” A set of stairs leading to voting booths with no elevator. A poll worker demanding voters state their names and addresses aloud, no matter their ability to speak. These are just a few of the barriers voters with disabilities have faced at Wisconsin polling places in recent elections. Advocates say the issues are preventing people with disabilities from voting with the same ease and privacy as others — or preventing their votes entirely. The last state report on accessibility barriers, in 2015, found most audited polling places had problems. State law requires such a report every two years, but state officials failed to complete one in 2017 and they’re late on the 2019 report.  The 2015 report found about 4,000 accessibility problems at 808 polling places. It said about 1,650 problems were severe enough to likely prevent some voters from entering and casting a private and independent ballot.  Federal law requires voting facilities to be accessible to people with disabilities.

Wisconsin: Election Commission takes steps to strengthen security of Wisconsin’s voting process | The Milwaukee Independent

The Wisconsin Elections Commission unanimously approved a $1.1 million grant program on September 24 that aimed to help cities and towns beef up their election security. The program would make up to $1,200 in federal funding available for qualified participants to update operating systems or buy new computers. Municipalities that already meet baseline security standards could use the funding to make security improvements, like setting up a firewall. These measures are meant to protect Wisconsin’s electronic voting system and voters’ personal information. Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe said the sooner municipalities have completed the improvements, the better. Wolfe told the commission during its meeting in Tuesday in Madison that every municipality that receives funds will need to be up to minimum security standards by January. The grant program will prioritize the lowest of Wisconsin’s low-tech municipalities. Before approving the program, the commission decided to wait until after those cities and towns get their grants in November before giving money to communities that already meet the security baseline.

Wisconsin: Outdated systems could affect state vote | Capitol Report

A Wisconsin Elections Commission security official is expressing concern that outdated operating systems are being used by local elections clerks across the state, raising the prospect of foreign interference in Wisconsin’s elections ahead of the 2020 presidential race. In a memo, Election Security Lead Tony Bridges details how a number of local clerks are using Windows XP or Windows 7 on office computers to access the WisVote voter database. According to Bridges, failure to maintain an up-to-date operating system poses “a tremendous risk.” Security patches on Windows XP have not been supported since 2014, while Windows 7 will reach its end-of-life cycle in January 2020, meaning Microsoft will no longer provide free security updates. Bridges pointed to a recent cyberattack in Georgia that brought down systems across Jackson County and warned a similar attack could “dramatically impact voter confidence in the electoral process” in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin: Outdated operating systems could affect Wisconsin elections | Capitol Report/HNG News

A Wisconsin Elections Commission security official is expressing concern that outdated operating systems are being used by local elections clerks across the state, raising the prospect of foreign interference in Wisconsin’s elections ahead of the 2020 presidential race. In a memo, Election Security Lead Tony Bridges details how a number of local clerks are using Windows XP or Windows 7 on office computers to access the WisVote voter database. According to Bridges, failure to maintain an up-to-date operating system poses “a tremendous risk.” Security patches on Windows XP have not been supported since 2014, while Windows 7 will reach its end-of-life cycle in January 2020, meaning Microsoft will no longer provide free security updates. Bridges pointed to a recent cyberattack in Georgia that brought down systems across Jackson County and warned a similar attack could “dramatically impact voter confidence in the electoral process” in Wisconsin. “It could, for example, expose confidential information, prevent the timely distribution of absentee ballots, prevent the timely printing of poll books, disrupt communications with voters, expose voters to potential cyberattack, destroy digital records, prevent the display of election night results,” he wrote recently.

Wisconsin: Election security threats and the proposed solution | WXOW

Outdated Windows systems could impact election security in Wisconsin. Officials say the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) has started a pilot program to address concerns. The proposal, prepared by Election Security Lead Tony Bridges, cites concerns over aging computer systems. He states, “the strength or weakness of any one work station could affect the security of the entire state’s elections infrastructure.” Bridge then explained at least a handful of computers that access WisVote no longer receive security updates; that includes Windows XP which hasn’t been updated since 2014. WEC won’t specify which users are vulnerable due to privacy concerns. “We always want to be careful when we’re talking about elections security,” said WEC PIO Reid Magney. “We don’t want to divulge where there might be vulnerabilities in the system.”

Wisconsin: Elections Commission votes to boost election security spending | Briana Reilly/The Cap Times

The Wisconsin Elections Commission has moved to bolster local election security efforts in light of concerns that some clerks’ use of outdated computer operating systems could open up the state to cyberattacks in future election cycles. The efforts, approved unanimously by the panel on Tuesday, aim to address potential vulnerabilities across the state, where some clerks are using out-of-date computer systems or failing to install software patches and updates, according to a memo released ahead of the meeting.  Commission Chair Dean Knudson noted that while the panel has “hardened our defenses tremendously over recent years,” it’s important to continue identifying potential issues and addressing them. “This is about looking at what we can do to further strengthen our defenses,” the Republican appointee said. Commissioners Tuesday agreed to direct existing federal dollars to implement software to track the security levels of local elections officials’ computers, at a cost of up to $69,000, create a $30,000 emergency loan program to secure 25 devices that could be temporarily handed out to local clerks who aren’t able to comply with security protocols and take preliminary steps to hire a technical support position.  The action came after WEC’s election security lead Tony Bridges detailed in a memo his concerns about local clerks’ use of outdated operating systems to access the WisVote database, the statewide voter registration and election management system, including Windows XP, where security patches haven’t been supported since 2014. Meanwhile, the memo also noted others are using Windows 7 to utilize the database, and Microsoft won’t be providing free security updates for it after mid-January 2020. Not maintaining a current operating system, Bridges’ memo states, “exposes the user to tremendous risk.” He referenced a recent incident in Georgia in which hackers orchestrated a ransomware attack using Ryuk on Jackson County systems, causing officials to pay $400,000 to regain access to their information. If systems in Wisconsin are similarly attacked, the memo said, confidential information could be exposed, digital records could be destroyed, election night results may not be displayable and absentee ballot distribution and poll book printing could be impacted, among other things. 

Wisconsin: Election officials trying to address outdated equipment | Lawrence Andrea/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Wisconsin elections officials are considering spending more than $800,000 to replace outdated equipment, update software and further address computer security as the state prepares for the 2020 presidential election. Among the proposals in a Wisconsin Elections Commission plan is to establish a program that would lend new computers to municipalities with outdated operating systems. More than 500 state elections system users are on computer systems that have reached the end of their life or will do so in the next six months, according to a commission memo. Some of these users have plans to update their systems, but the commission is proposing lending 250 devices to municipalities unable to replace them. The loans will be free and distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. The equipment is expected to cost up to $300,000. The commission staff knows “that at least a handful” of clerks are logging into the WisVote voter registration and election management system with operating systems that are no longer receiving security updates, according to the memo. It also notes that hundreds of clerks are using Microsoft Windows 7, which will stop providing free updates in January.

Wisconsin: Expert: Many Wisconsin elections clerks use outdated systems | Todd Richmond/Associated Press

Hundreds of local clerks are using outdated computer systems or aren’t installing security patches, leaving Wisconsin’s election system vulnerable to potentially devastating cyberattacks, state elections officials fear. Election officials across the country have stepped up efforts to block hackers from wreaking havoc during the 2020 contests after Russians interfered with the 2016 presidential election. Congress has been warned that there could be more foreign interference next year, when Wisconsin is expected to be a presidential swing state again. But Wisconsin Elections Commission Election Security Lead Tony Bridges said in a memo to commissioners released Friday that some local clerks are still logging into the state election system using Windows XP or Windows 7. Microsoft stopped supporting Windows XP in 2014 and said it will stop providing free security updates for Windows 7 starting in January. Bridges wrote that it’s safe to assume a large percentage of clerks won’t upgrade before the deadline or pay for updates. Even clerks with current operating systems often fail to install security patches, he said. The failure to maintain current operating systems exposes state elections to tremendous risk, Bridges wrote. He pointed to an incident in March in which a ransomware variant called Ryuk shut down vital systems in Jackson County, Georgia, including computers supporting emergency dispatch. Ransomware is software designed to shut down computer systems or data until a ransom is paid.

Wisconsin: Election security bolstered by cybersecurity, other measures | The Capitol Report

On the eve of the 2018 midterm elections, computer security specialists from across the country descended on the DEFCON 26 Hacking Conference in Las Vegas. These “white hat” hackers sought to probe the security features of voting machines and election systems in an effort to identify weaknesses. The results were alarming to election security experts. Hackers at DEFCON’s Voting Village found that an 11-year old trained only in basic coding techniques was able to hack into a mock-up of Florida’s election results website and change its reported vote totals. Conference attendees were also able to identify a vote tabulation machine — the Election Systems & Software M650 — that could be hacked in under two minutes, or as the report says, “within the time it takes to vote.” In recent years, Wisconsin’s election security practices have come under scrutiny, most notably by Democrats in the U.S. House Administration Committee, who concluded in July 2018 that Wisconsin was one of the 18 states most vulnerable to cyber attacks on election infrastructure.