The release of Pro V & V’s report on the vulnerabilities of WinVote machines raises many serious questions about the security of the vote in Virginia. In light of the importance of elections and confidence in elections, the Fair Elections Legal Network applauds the decision of the Board of Elections to collect public comment and consider decertification of the machines in question.

Numerous laws have been passed in the General Assembly since 2011 in order to increase confidence and decrease the chance of fraud in our elections. The effort to cut down on supposed “voter fraud” included the removal of the certification of ID affidavit, the requirement of an ID to vote with over $1 million of state funds being spent to mail voter registration cards for use as ID, and immediately rendering those IDs invalid as the General Assembly passed a photo ID standard which was implemented in 2014 following robust debate.  The General Assembly has clearly taken the position that it is worth investing in the integrity of elections.

The SBE should consider immediately decertifying the WinVote machines in light of the commitment of the state to conducting fraud free elections and the proven vulnerability of these machines. The lack of proof that any elections have been affected by the machine vulnerabilities uncovered in the recent examinations should not change this assessment. Our elections are far too important to sit and wait for an election to be altered before taking action to remove any weak links.

We understand that many localities would be impacted if WinVote machines are decertified but believe that free and fair elections are far too important to sacrifice for the sake of inconvenience. The SBE should consider working with registrars to ensure enough machines are available for 2015 and work with the General Assembly to fund sufficient replacements for counties for 2016.

The SBE should also establish mandatory reporting standards to ensure that any possible system wide vulnerabilities, such as those discovered in the WinVote system, are uncovered and addressed quickly. Unfortunately, WinVote is no longer in business and cannot upgrade their system, but others may be able to in the future. The security of elections in Virginia should not be dependent on chance reviews.