On July 28, 2023, Free Speech For People, Common Cause NY and Public Citizen submitted a letter to the New York State Board of Elections urging it to reject the ExpressVote XL, an all-in-one ballot marking device and tabulator. 

The organizations cite New York State’s Election Reform and Modernization Act of 2005 (ERMA 2005), § 7-202 (1) (e) which requires that a voting system:  

“provide the voter an opportunity to privately and independently verify votes selected and the ability to privately and independently change such votes or correct any error before the ballot is cast and counted.” [Emphasis added.]

Highlighting that the ExpressVote XL records and counts votes in non-human readable barcodes which cannot be visually verified by New York State voters, the organizations stress that the ExpressVote XL does not meet this crucial requirement of New York State law. 

Further, the letter highlights findings from a security source code review that concluded that the ExpressVote XL software includes cybersecurity vulnerabilities that are prohibited by New York State voting system certification requirements. A security testing review recommended that ES&S should review and update its source code to comply with New York State requirements. 

The organizations concurred, writing: “We strenuously agree with NYSTEC’s recommendation, and urge the Board to vote against certification until ES&S can amend its source code to meet New York State requirements.”

Read the organizations’ letter here,  press release here, press coverage here.

The New York State Board of Election will vote on the certification of the ExpressVote XL on August 2, 2023.