Voting Equipment Safeguards
Utah uses equipment that is certified by the United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Equipment that is used to scan ballots or tabulate votes has never been connected to the Internet and never will be. Any updates that are made to this equipment must be certified by the EAC and manually updated on the equipment.
Can the Vote Tabulation Equipment be hacked or manipulated?
Equipment that counts votes is NEVER connected to the Internet. County Clerks detect and prevent unauthorized access of scanners used at polling places with multiple digital and physical security layers, including tamper-evident election seals and human observation. Only trained and authorized personnel have physical access to voting equipment.
Can equipment manipulate or incorrectly count or tabulate votes?
Before the certification of an election, in a public meeting, clerk staff conduct an audit of a random sample of all ballots cast. During the audit, they manually review and compare the audited ballots to the system-tabulated record to ensure the accuracy of the equipment. The audit results are public records reported to the Board of Canvassers and the Lieutenant Governor.
Can election workers manipulate ballots or vote counts?
County Clerk process the ballots using a minimum of two trained election workers who have sworn an oath to process the ballots with integrity. Ballot processing is always done within view of the public, with strict controls and audits throughout the process. Results are never compiled or viewed until after the polls close on election night.
Can voting equipment not be set up correctly, or may it be configured to favor a specific candidate?
Before any vote tabulation, each piece of election equipment is thoroughly tested internally and in a publicly noticed Logic and Accuracy Test. A test deck, or pre-voted set of test ballots, is created with marks for each candidate. The equipment processes and tabulates these test ballots. County Clerks then compare the predetermined results with the tabulated results to ensure perfect accuracy.
New Safeguards
- A new administrative rule requires that election software must be validated when installed and repeatedly before every major election. The Office of the Lieutenant Governor will also randomly validate the software being used throughout the state. These practices, along with the fact that vote tabulating equipment is never connected to the Internet, will continue to ensure that there is no malicious software on the systems that tabulate votes (HB 313).
Contact
To make an additional suggestion, or if you have more election questions, contact your county clerk. Find Your County Clerk