Who's Watching the Vote? The Shaky Foundations of U.S. Election Security

Examining the Conflicts of Interest and Systemic Flaws in Our Voting System Certification Process

July 12,2025

This report investigates allegations of a rigged U.S. election system, focusing on whether the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) has deliberately certified flawed voting systems in cooperation with private companies and testing labs. The analysis will cover the EAC's role, history, and mandate to set standards and certify equipment. Key areas of scrutiny include testing lab accreditation, voting machine vulnerabilities, alleged political influence on EAC commissioners, the development of VVSG 2.0 standards, and the broader financial and political landscape impacting election administration, all aimed at assessing the system's integrity.

The Story Nobody's Telling

Imagine you're buying a car, and the safety inspector who's supposed to check the brakes is being paid directly by the car manufacturer. Would you trust that inspection?

Welcome to America's voting machine certification system.

After digging through court documents, federal reports, and technical analyses, a disturbing pattern emerges: the very agencies and companies tasked with ensuring our voting systems are secure may be more interested in keeping their clients happy than keeping our elections trustworthy.

This isn't about partisan politics—it's about basic accountability. And the story is wilder than you might expect.

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Meet the Players

The Election Assistance Commission (EAC): Created after the 2000 Florida recount mess, this federal agency is supposed to be our election security watchdog. Think of them as the FDA for voting machines.

Voting System Test Laboratories (VSTLs): Private companies that test voting machines before they're approved for use. They're like the crash test facilities for cars, except they're testing democracy.

The Big Three Voting Machine Companies: ES&S, Dominion, and Hart InterCivic control most of America's voting infrastructure.

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The "Oops, We Forgot to Renew Our License" Scandal

Here's where it gets interesting. Pro V&V, a company that certifies about 80% of America's voting machines, apparently operated without valid federal accreditation for four years (2017-2021).

Let that sink in: The company approving most of our voting systems was potentially doing so without proper credentials for nearly half a decade.

When caught, the EAC claimed it was just a "clerical error" and blamed COVID-19 for the delay.

There's one small problem with that excuse: Pro V&V's renewal was supposed to happen in early 2017, but COVID-19 didn't arrive until 2020. That's like saying you were late to work because of a traffic jam that happened three years later.

A Georgia lawsuit called this explanation "ludicrous," and it's hard to disagree.

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The Client-Centric Problem

Here's what should make every American uncomfortable: Pro V&V's old website (they've since scrubbed this language) explicitly stated their mission was serving "clients" and ensuring products met regulations "to your satisfaction."

Who are these "clients"? The voting machine manufacturers.

This creates what economists call a "perverse incentive." When your paycheck depends on keeping manufacturers happy, how rigorous is your testing really going to be?

It's like having restaurant health inspectors whose salaries are paid directly by the restaurants they inspect. The potential for conflicts of interest is obvious.

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The Technology Time Warp

Remember Windows XP? That operating system your grandma might still be using? Microsoft stopped supporting it in 2014, meaning no more security updates.

Guess what many voting machines are still running on? Windows XP. And Windows 2000 (discontinued in 2010). Some estimates suggest 42 states use voting machines over a decade old.

At the annual DEF CON hacker conference, cybersecurity experts regularly demonstrate how easy it is to hack these machines. One researcher described it as "popping open these machines like tin cans." Another said they tore through them "like wet cardboard."

The most infamous example: Virginia's WINVote machines, which ran on Windows XP, had weak Wi-Fi encryption, and used "abcde" as the administrative password. Yes, really. "abcde."

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The Good News (Yes, There Is Some)

Before you panic, here's what's encouraging:

1. Newer machines are much better: Modern voting systems use current operating systems with proper security features.

2. Researchers are on the case: Security experts like J. Alex Halderman are actively finding and reporting vulnerabilities so they can be fixed.

3. The system is improving: When problems are identified, companies do develop patches and updates.

4. Paper trails exist: Many jurisdictions now require paper backups that can be audited.

The problem isn't that the system is fundamentally broken—it's that it's slowly getting better, and speed matters when democracy is on the line.

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What Can You Actually Do?

Here's where citizen action comes in. You have more power than you might think:

At the Local Level

• Attend county commission meetings where voting equipment decisions are made

• Ask your election officials what machines they use and when they were last updated

• Request information about vendor contracts and testing procedures (these are public records)

• Volunteer as a poll worker to see the system from the inside

At the State Level

• Contact your state representatives about election security funding

• Support legislation requiring regular equipment updates and transparent testing

• Advocate for paper ballot requirements in your state

At the Federal Level

• Contact your Congressional representatives about EAC oversight and funding

• Support organizations pushing for election security improvements

• Stay informed about federal election security legislation

Legal Avenues

• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests can reveal how testing is conducted

• Public records requests at the state and local level can expose vendor relationships

• Citizens can file lawsuits challenging inadequate security measures (as happened in Georgia)

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The Constitution Connection

The Constitution gives states the primary responsibility for conducting elections, but Congress has the power to regulate federal elections. This creates opportunities for action at multiple levels.

The 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause has been used to challenge election systems that don't provide equal security to all voters. If some counties have secure, modern systems while others use easily hackable machines, that could violate equal protection.

The key constitutional principle: Due Process. Citizens have a right to elections that are conducted fairly and with proper procedures.

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The Bottom Line

This isn't about conspiracy theories or partisan finger-pointing. It's about basic accountability and transparency in a system that affects every American.

The evidence suggests our election infrastructure has real vulnerabilities—not because of malicious conspiracies, but because of bureaucratic inertia, conflicts of interest, and the challenge of updating critical systems.

The fix isn't revolution; it's transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement. Democracy works best when citizens pay attention and demand better.

Your vote matters. Making sure it's counted accurately matters even more.

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Take Action Today

1. Find out what voting machines your county uses (usually available on your county election office website)

2. Sign up for your county commission meeting notifications

3. Contact your state representatives about election security funding

4. Share this information with friends and family

Remember: The people who show up make the decisions. In a democracy, that should be all of us.

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Although the Georgia lawsuit criticizing Pro V&V’s expired accreditation was ultimately dismissed, it wasn’t because the claims lacked merit. U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg ruled that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing—but not before stating she had “substantial concerns” about the vulnerabilities in Georgia’s voting systems. In her words, the case “presented serious questions about the state’s reliance on insecure, aging machines,” especially those using QR codes to tabulate votes. In other words: the legal door was closed, but the warning sirens were acknowledged.

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Have questions? Want to share what you've learned about your local voting systems? Drop a comment below. Democracy works best when we're all paying attention.

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Examining Allegations of Systemic Compromise within U.S. Election Infrastructure

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DEFCON 25 Voting Machine Hacking Village Report on Cyber Vulnerabilities in U.S. Election Equipment, Databases, and Infrastructure

Hacking the Vote: It’s Easier Than You Think Alex Halderman has made a career studying electronic voting security.

One U-M professor and election security expert aims to identify and amend security risks before they can be taken advantage of by would-be hackers.

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/08/01/many-americans-are-confident-the-2024-election-will-be-conducted-fairly-but-wide-partisan-differences-remain/

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