Rhode Island

Rhode Island: ‘I will not participate’: Secretary of State Gregg Amore refuses to give Trump DOJ ‘personally identifiable’ voter info | Katherine Gregg/Providence Journal

The U.S. Department of Justice has demanded Rhode Island’s voter rolls, but Secretary of State Gregg Amore is refusing to provide the level of personal information the federal agency is seeking about the state’s voters. In a response letter that went out Sept. 16, Amore said he would be “pleased to voluntarily” provide a copy of the publicly available voter registration list, but “I must protect the personally identifiable information of Rhode Island voters.” He said he would not, without “a demonstration of a proper legal basis” or a court order. provide the “personally identifiable information” the federal agency is seeking, including the state driver’s license number and the last four digits of the Social Security number of each registered voter. Read Article

Rhode Island: Elections Systems and Software settles with state over Spanish language ballot blunder | Patrick Anderson/The Providence Journal

The election equipment provider in the middle of a blunder on Spanish language ballots in the September primaries has agreed to credit Rhode Island $47,644, Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea said Thursday. Nebraska-based Election Systems and Software “will provide a credit for all project management services provided in connection with the 2022 Primary Election,” Gorbea said in a news release. The company also agreed to post a message on its website reminding election workers that it’s a good idea to proofread all ballots and test all tabulation machines before voters head to the polls. “We have held our vendor accountable for their mistake, and working together we have succeeded in making systemic improvements to pre-election testing across my office, the Board of Elections and ES&S,” Gorbea said in the release. As a result of what were described as undetected “programming errors,” during the September primary’s early voting period some Spanish ballots on new touch-screen voting machines listed candidates from the 2018 election.

Full Article: Elections Systems and Software settle with RI over Spanish ballot mistake

Rhode Island: Will security concerns slow down speedy vote count? | Patrick Anderson/The Providence Journal

A mere hour after polls closed on Election Day, while many states were kicking off days of ballot counting, Rhode Islanders watching closely knew who would win all of the key statewide and federal races, including the ultra-competitive 2nd Congressional District battle. News organizations were able to call races (and meet deadlines) at hours that a few years ago would have been considered unthinkably early and get a head start formulating their post-vote takeaways. It hasn’t always been so fast. Rhode Island’s rapid election reporting is partly a consequence of its ultra-compact geography and the centralization of its elections bureaucracy compared to larger states where counties play a big role. And it’s partly because of decisions Rhode Island officials made a few years ago that turned it into the only state in the country where 100% of voting machines transmit results wirelessly.

Full Article: Will security concerns slow down Rhode Island’s speedy vote count?

Rhode Island: ExpressVote ballots to be reviewed by Board of Elections, Secretary of State’s office | Amy Russo/The Providence Journal

The state’s Board of Elections has adopted new protocols for checking ExpressVote machines ahead of the general election on Nov. 8. In a plan released on Wednesday, the board said 522 machines and 592 DS200 tabulators will be tested in preparation for early voting on Oct. 19 and the general election. According to the document, tests involve a “checklist to check hardware and software functionality.” That includes seeing whether the machines power on properly, verifying precinct numbers and addresses, and ensuring ballots can be marked accurately, among a host of other checks. The board said Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea’s office already started proofing English and Spanish ballots on Saturday, the latter of which showed errors during the primary elections. At the time, some of those ballots featured the incorrect list of candidates. Mayor Jorge Elorza appeared to place blame both on Gorbea’s office and the board, calling for the ExpressVote machines to be removed during the primary. However, as the request was made last-minute and there was no viable alternative for those ADA-compliant machines, that was not possible.

Full Article: ExpressVote ballots to be reviewed by BOE, Secretary of State’s office

Rhode Island Board of Elections wants clarity as more ballot errors emerge | Katherine Gregg/The Providence Journal

As more ballot errors came to light, the state Board of Elections on Wednesday voted to establish a protocol that leaves no doubt about the role of the secretary of state in the “ballot verification” process. The frustration in the room Wednesday was palpable following the public release by  Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea’s office of a letter laying the blame for incorrect Spanish-language ballots exclusively at the feet of the company that supplied the state’s new ExpressVote machines in July and the state Board of Elections. “This is a serious issue. We all know that,” said elections board member Jennifer Johnson. “There has been a lot of blame and stuff blowing around in the press,” she said. “I think we are all interested in moving forward and assuring the voters that we are working together … It is all of our collective responsibility to ensure elections integrity and voter access.” “Although I have some feelings about responsibility, I don’t think that is helpful in this particular case,” added the vice-chairman, Richard Pierce. “I think it is clear some errors were made,” he said.

Full Article: Ballot errors in Rhode Island, Board of Elections seeks clear roles

Rhode Island: Voting security advocates, computer scientists sound alarm over new voting law | Nancy Lavin/Providence Business News

Once a common office fixture, fax machines have been reduced to a rare, if novelty, relic. Unless, of course, you’re a military member or overseas resident who wants to vote in a Rhode Island election. The good, old-fashioned fax machine has long been the only alternative to sluggish snail mail for overseas and military voters to receive and send back ballots. Until now. A new law is poised to bring Rhode Island’s voting system into the 21st century by letting the secretary of state choose an electronic voting system. The option would only be offered to disabled, military and overseas veterans, and must meet federal cybersecurity standards. At face value, it sounds like a reasonable upgrade to antiquated technology, and a way to make voting easier for groups that have struggled in the past. But the law has raised the hackles of computer scientists and voting security advocates, who say the technology to allow safe, secure and private electronic voting simply does not exist.

Full Article: Voting security advocates, computer scientists sound alarm over new R.I. voting law

Rhode Island governor signs bill allowing internet voting | Benjamin Freed/StateScoop

Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee last week signed legislation that could allow some of the state’s registered voters to cast their ballots over the internet, despite concerns raised by election officials and critics of electronic voting. The new law, S2118, calls for giving deployed military service members, citizens residing overseas and people with physical disabilities the ability to receive and submit their ballots online. While the legislation passed the Rhode Island General Assembly earlier this year with comfortable margins, it raised criticisms from election-security advocates who’ve long said that submitting votes over an internet connection could imperil the secret ballot. “The landscape of the internet hasn’t really changed much since the early 1990s,” said C. Jay Coles, a senior policy associate at Verified Voting. “The internet wasn’t designed as a secure space.” Under the new Rhode Island law, eligible voters could request an electronic ballot if the secretary of state’s office approves a system that’s gone through “one or more independent security reviews” and meets the scrutiny of the cybersecurity framework published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Full Article: Rhode Island governor signs bill allowing internet voting

Rhode Island Senate committee to vote on remote voting bill despite warnings of risks | Katherine Gregg/The Providence Journal

The state’s top election officials raised warning flags. One state lawmaker after another stated their misgivings when it popped up a year ago. But a bill to allow remote voting is once again headed to a vote at the Rhode Island State House. On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on the bill, S2118, to allow disabled and military voters to “electronically receive and return their mail ballot.” The proposal was not included in the much-heralded “Let RI Vote” bill, allowing online applications and eliminating longstanding witness requirements for mail ballots, that Gov. Dan McKee is expected to sign into law on Wednesday. And only one person spoke in favor of the legislation at a hearing earlier this year: the lead sponsor, Sen. Stephen Archambault, D-Smithfield. Others voiced their support in writing, including the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights. But in a letter of concern to lawmakers, Cranston’s director of elections, Nicholas Lima, wrote: “There are significant cybersecurity concerns … despite assurances that some electronic ballot vendors tend to promote to the contrary. “No current technology exists that allows a [ballot] to be transmitted … electronically, without risk of interception or alteration by hostile threat actors – including well-equipped nation state actors that are intent on disrupting American elections by any means necessary.

Full Article: Rhode Island Senate committee to vote on remote voting bill

Rhode Island Senate approves early voting bill, online mail ballot applications | Katherine Gregg/The Providence Journal

Despite strong pushback from legislative Republicans — and the state GOP — the Senate on Tuesday approved a bill to make it easier to vote almost three weeks early and in absentia. The mostly party-line vote was 28 to 6, with House Majority Whip Maryellen Goodwin calling it a “great day for democracy” and Republican Sen. Elaine Morgan calling the legislation a “travesty” of democracy. (The only Democrat who broke ranks was Sen. Roger Picard.) Most basically, the legislation allows voters to cast ballots 20 days ahead of an election, and to apply for absentee ballots — also known as mail ballots — online, using a driver’s license or state identification card number as their ID.  It eliminates the required confirmation of two witnesses or a notary to the signing of a mail ballot. It also calls for the creation of a permanent list of nursing home residents — and others who are disabled “for an indefinite period” — to whom mail ballot applications would be sent automatically in every election. This would stop only if a local elections clerk received “reliable information that a voter no longer qualifies for the service” for whatever reason, including death.

Full Article: RI Senate approves early voting bill, online mail ballot applications

Rhode Island communities awarded grants for election security | Ryan Belmore/What’s Up Newp

Secretary of State Nellie M. Gorbea today announced the allocation of grant money to 18 Rhode Island cities and towns to strengthen the cybersecurity of voting systems and improve election processes. These grants total $544,653 and are awarded as part of Rhode Island’s share of $3 million from Congress under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). Secretary Gorbea serves as the state’s Chief Elections Official under HAVA, according to Gorbea’s office. “Election security starts at the local level,” said Secretary Gorbea in a statement. “There is no finish line when it comes to cybersecurity. Threats are always evolving, so we must constantly assess our systems and processes at both the state and local levels and make improvements to mitigate risk. These grants will help these communities do just that. I would like to thank our Congressional delegation for their leadership and advocacy at the federal level that has led to us receiving these funds to strengthen the cybersecurity of our election systems.”

Full Article: 18 Rhode Island communities awarded grants for election security – What’s Up Newp

Rhode Island Board of Elections pilots new algorithm to make risk-limiting audits more efficient | What’s Up Newport

On Friday, February 11th, the Rhode Island Board of Election hosted a group of national elections integrity experts to conduct a pilot Risk Limiting Audit (RLA) utilizing a new algorithm designed to improve the efficiency of the RLA process. The pilot was run using ballots cast for the November 2, 2021 Portsmouth special referenda (Question 1). The RLA also served as a refresher for Board of Elections and local Board of Canvassers staff. “Rhode Island is a leader in the use of Risk Limiting Audits to ensure the integrity of our election results, and we were pleased to partner with national experts to pilot a new algorithm designed to improve the efficiency of the RLA process,” said Robert Rapoza, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Board of Elections. “Results from this pilot RLA will ultimately be published and reviewed by elections experts around the country. We were pleased to help play a part in work to further improve RLAs, considered the ‘gold standard’ of election auditing techniques.” The pilot RLA took approximately 3-hours to complete and was successful in one round in which 240 ballots (out of 3,814 total ballots cast) were pulled and examined. The risk limit came out to 4.18% which means there is a 95.82% chance that the outcome is correct. The new algorithm would have required half the ballots to have likely achieved the same results.

Full Article: R.I. Board of Elections pilots new algorithm to make risk-limiting audits more efficient – What’s Up Newp

At Rhode Island cybersecurity summit, elections officials confront ‘elephant in the room’ | Mark Reynolds/The Providence Journal

Local elections officials were reminded of a new and different challenge facing the country’s election systems on Wednesday at Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea’s virtual summit on cybersecurity. The reminder came from James Ludes. The director of Salve Regina University’s Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy talked about former President Donald Trump’s rejection…

Rhode Island Election Security Legislation Stalls | Alex Malm/Newport This Week

Legislation that would authorize the Secretary of State and the Board of Elections to conduct an extensive cybersecurity assessment of the state’s election systems and facilities, and establish a cybersecurity review board, was introduced by Rep. Deborah Ruggiero this year. The legislation also creates a cybersecurity incident response group to adopt protocols in the event of any breaches of cybersecurity. “There is no finish line when it comes to cybersecurity; a recent Gallop poll shows that Americans rank cybersecurity as a top threat facing our country, with 98 percent saying it’s a critical issue,” said Ruggiero. “ Our world is very different today than it was five years ago. We saw firsthand in the 2016 elections how the democratic process and governance came under attack through social media and technology and how it perpetuated divisiveness amongst people.” After unanimously passing the Rhode Island House of Representatives, the legislation was sent to the Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee last month. The committee didn’t vote it out of committee. Rep. Barbara Ann Fenton Fung, a Republican, sponsored the legislation. “If we learned anything from 2020, it’s that improving trust in the mechanics of our election process is so very important right now,” said Fenton-Fung. “This bill raises our game in terms of improving our cybersecurity infrastructure, and creates a comprehensive review and response team that includes the well-respected Rhode Island National Guard and Rhode Island State Police.

Full Article: Ruggiero Election Security Legislation Stalls | Newport This Week

Rhode Island: Unknown Number of Emailed Ballots Counted by Board of Elections | GoLocalProv

Many believed that it was illegal for the Rhode Island Board of Election to accept and count ballots sent to the state by email in the 2020 election. The Board’s Executive Director Robert Rapoza and Miguel Nunez, Deputy Director of Elections, have confirmed to GoLocal that a significant number of ballots were accepted from overseas and military personnel from unsecure emails and those ballots were counted in the final tally. The acceptance of the ballots seems to have caught Rhode Island Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea, as well as the former vice-chair of the Board of Elections and the top election watchdog in Rhode Island, off-guard. The number of ballots sent out was 3,072 and 2,732 were returned by overseas voters and members of the U.S. military. According to multiple sources, Gorbea, who has repeatedly raised concerns about non-secure email ballots was unaware that the Board of Elections accepted and counted email ballots in the 2020 election.

Full Article: GoLocalProv | INVESTIGATION: Unknown Number of Emailed Ballots Counted by RI Board of Elections

Rhode Island House approves bill to allow remote electronic voting | Katherine Gregg/The Providence Journal

The state’s top election officials raised warning flags. One state lawmaker after another stated their misgivings about a bill moving through the State House to allow remote voting without a paper trail. But in the end, the Rhode Island House on Wednesday voted 48-to-17 for legislation that would allow disabled and military voters to “electronically receive and return their mail ballot.” The bill now goes to the Senate, where its prospects are uncertain. Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea’s turnabout on the bill epitomized the struggle many of the lawmakers were having in an era of cyber hacking and potential distrust of the outcome of any election where there is no paper trail to validate the results. Advocates said the electronic delivery and return of ballots would make it easier for handicapped people to vote than the current system for absentee voters, which ultimately requires the filled-out ballot be placed in the mail or in a drop box. But Common Cause of Rhode Island, one of the leaders of a campaign to increase voting opportunities, came out strongly against the bill. “We believe that the electronic return of the ballot is too risky,” John Marion, executive director of the local Common Cause chapter, told The Journal. “The FBI and [R.I. Congressman] Jim Langevin both agree. It can be hacked and votes can be changed, and the voter would never know.”

Full Article: RI House approves bill to allow remote electronic voting

Rhode Island Lawmakers Push Election Cybersecurity Assessment | Katya Maruri/Government Technology

Conducting a cybersecurity assessment of Rhode Island’s election systems could soon fall to the secretary of state, if Gov. Daniel McKee signs a recently proposed bill by state lawmakers. According to Rep. Deborah Ruggiero, D-74, the bill aims to create a proactive plan to prevent future ransomware and cyber attacks against the state’s election systems and provide training to canvassers to deal with cyber incidents. “This bill is timely and relevant as it allows the secretary of state and the board of elections to take actions to enhance our election security,” Ruggiero said. “We saw firsthand in the 2016 election how the democratic process came under attack — through social media and technology.” During the 2016 presidential election, issues such as bots posing as social media users to spread false information and the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee finding that Russia employed over 1,000 people to create fake accounts to spread anti-Hillary Clinton rhetoric raised cybersecurity concerns. Because of incidents like these, she said, cybersecurity has become an adversary that’s everywhere, impacting various industries throughout the country, including businesses, education and government. However, in Rhode Island’s case, no cyber incidents have been reported.

Full Article: Rhode Island Lawmakers Push Election Cybersecurity Assessment

Rhode Island Board of Elections audits election results | Connor Cyrus/WJAR

The Rhode Island Board of Elections conducted an audit Monday of the results of the Nov. 3 general election. “They look at a sample of the total number of ballots cast and compare it to the outcome of the election,” said John Marion of Common Cause. The so-called risk-limiting audit happens after every election in Rhode Island and is mandated by state law. It stems from people being worried during the 2016 election about cyberattacks. That same year, there was a problem at a Pawtucket polling place where one machine reported the wrong results. “It made election administrators and ultimately the General Assembly realize they needed to do something to check the results every time in a systematic way,” Marion said. The process is very organized and starts with blue boxes of ballots. The process counts roughly 10% of all of Rhode Island’s ballots by municipality. Monday, they were focusing on the presidential election.

Full Article: Rhode Island Board of Elections audits election results

Rhode Island: A state Board of Elections official says cybersecurity has held strong | Mark Reynolds/The Providence Journal

The cybersecurity of Rhode Island’s election system has been strong through the entire election cycle and remains sturdy as the state prepares for a risk-limiting audit of voting results, a state election official said Tuesday. The state Board of Elections’ process for transmitting unofficial election results, with modems and a private network, had drawn some scrutiny prior to the election. One election technology expert with the Silicon Valley-based OSET Institute, Eddie Perez, had referred to the plan as “a bad idea,” citing “broad consensus” in the cybersecurity field regarding the liability of such wireless technology. But Rhode Island’s Board of Elections stayed with its plan, reassured, in part, by input from the Rhode Island National Guard’s local team of cybersecurity experts, known as the Defensive Cyber Operations Element. On Election Night, the modems helped keep the public “well-informed” with timely unofficial results, said the BOE’s deputy director of elections, Miguel Nunez. Nunez pointed out that the system had processed a record number of ballots. “We feel very good,” he said.

Full Article: A state Board of Elections official says cybersecurity has held strong.