Under Pennsylvania’s Election Code, 10 or more citizens have the right to challenge the Department of State’s certification of a voting system. That’s exactly what happened to the ExpressVote XL voting system, a hybrid combining a voter-verified paper trail with the simplicity of a touch screen. This system was certified by both the federal and state governments in November 2018. Eight months later, a consortium of paper ballot purists filed a challenge. This triggered an automatic re-examination, which was conducted off-site in August.

On Sept. 3, the Department of State rejected the challenge and has maintained the ExpressVote XL certification.

This petition for re-examination was signed by 200 citizens in “Free Speech for People,” “National Election Defense Coalition,” and “Citizens For Better Elections.” With a full quiver, they launched 10 separate attacks.

Seven of these arrows were immediately batted away because “they amount to purely legal arguments which do not apply to the re-examination or certification of an electronic voting system.” This left three arguments.

The first argument considered is that it’s possible to tamper with the machine. Independent examiners had no success after two days of testing.

Second, paper ballot purists complained that the paper ballots cast into a secured black box are in chronological order, making it possible to determine how someone voted. This attack was rejected because the votes go into a sealed black box never seen by poll workers. Also, when the ballot boxes are returned, the paper ballots are commingled by the county elections office before the canvas (official count).

Third, if a voter decides he is unhappy with his paper ballot, he can “quit” and ask for a new ballot. Because an elections worker must retrieve the spoiled ballot, the “better elections” people complain a poll worker might see the spoiled ballot. Well, they might see a spoiled paper ballot too. Moreover, the ballot is located on the far right side of the machine and is very difficult to review unless a concerted effort is made. And it’s a spoiled ballot that goes right into a spoiled ballot envelope, not the actual vote. So there’s no privacy violation.

“We appreciate that the DOS conducted its due diligence and we respect the right of anyone who wants to ask questions and learn more about our voting machines,” said Election Systems and Software Vice President Steve Pearson. “Many counties throughout the Commonwealth have already been experiencing positive results with demonstrations and trainings. We look forward to working with all counties utilizing our systems and ensuring that they have the tools necessary for proper education and outreach.”

This system worked flawlessly in Warren County in November and in Delaware in May.

“Accessible and secure elections are our goal in Northampton County, and we have a system that’s passed the test twice!” said Executive Lamont McClure.

The county has been demonstrating the machine at various locations, as well as at the courthouse.

The following dates are still left:

Sept. 25; noon - 2 p.m. Old York Road Senior Center, 720 Old York Road, Bethlehem

Sept. 28; 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Easton Public Market, 325 Northampton St.

Sep. 30; 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Bethlehem City Hall, 10 East Church St.

Oct. 3; 12:30 – 2:30 p.m. Cherryville Senior Center at Hope Lutheran Church, 4131 Lehigh Dr., Cherryville.

Oct. 5; noon – 2 p.m. Hanover Township Community Center- Fall Festival, 3660 Jacksonville Road, Bethlehem.