A GLOSSARY of TERMS

Below is a list of common and not-so-common elections-related acronyms, terminology, legislation and organizations for your review. Links are provided where available. Submissions for additional terms

COMMON ACRONYMS

EV — Early Voting

The span and procedures of Early Voting practices vary from state to state. In some states, all mail-in ballots are counted as “Early Votes” where in others they are counted and tabulated into their own specific totals.

ED — Election Day

The one day that is officially deemed “Election Day” which laws are drafted around. Election Day procedures are codified into every state’s statutes as Constitutionally ordained by Article 1, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution. Only the State Legislature can create election laws. This is a duty reserved for the Legislative Branch in each state. No other branch of government, nor any other entity, has the authority to amend or establish Election Law at the state level, save for a regulating act of congress, i.e. HAVA.

BBM — Ballot By Mail/ Absentee Ballots

Mail-In Ballots are referred to as “BBMs” in Texas and “Absentee Ballots” in other states.

ABBM — Application for Ballot By Mail/ Absentee Ballots

This is a form typically required to be filled out thoroughly and accurately prior to being approved and mailed an absentee ballot.

L&A — Logic and Accuracy Testing

County- Level public testing done to confirm accuracy of computerized voting systems certified by the EAC and Secretaries of State. These tests are tightly controlled and are typically designed by the voting machine manufacturers to have a plug-and-play style of test, where workers input exactly what they are told per a TEST KIT and when the results come out the way the TEST KIT wants, then it is considered a successful test of the equipment.

VDR — Volunteer Deputy Registrar

Citizens who have been deputized on behalf of a county’s registrar to register other citizens to vote. TBTX has a document for new VDRs to ask their trainers about so they do not unknowingly add bad registrations to the already corrupted voter files.

VUID — Voter Unique Identifier

This is your unique identifier, assigned to you upon approval of your application to register to vote. Full voter turnout files from Texas elections show duplicate VUID numbers associated with different names across the state. Duplicate entries would allow for duplicate votes cast under the same numbers.

SOS — Secretary of State

Typically this position is considered the Chief Election Official in the State. They issue advisories to State and County Level Election Officials which must, but often do not, adhere to State Election Laws as well as Federal and Constitutional Law. They do not have the authority to waive or authorize violation of State Election Codes. Each Secretary of State for a state who is a member of ERIC is on the voting board of ERIC, should receive reports from ERIC on their activities and agrees to pay ERIC based on the size of their voting population. The SOS is widely considered part of the Executive Branch, and in Texas our SOS is appointed by the Governor as opposed to being elected.

TEAM — Texas Election Administration Management [System]

Information on this program is elusive, but we know that many aspects of our state and county elections, including printing official registration certificates, are managed out of a program called TEAM. From the Texas Secretary of State’s Office:

“The TEAM System prints the mandatory seven jurisdictions and provides an option to print up to three more jurisdictions on the certificate. TEAM will preprint the boxes on the certificates as well as the jurisdiction type. The boxes with voter unique identifier (VUID), year of birth, and valid from date, will also be printed by TEAM and not preprinted on the card stock by your printer. There are two layouts, one for TEAM counties who will actually use TEAM to print voter information on the certificate and one for offline counties and TEAM counties who will contract with a private vendor to print voter data on the certificates. Offline counties must use the layout of the form enclosed but if they wish to print the maximum 14 jurisdictional boxes, they will have to work with their local postmaster on the design.” [Link]

NGO — Non-Governmental Organization

Typically these entities are made up of state and federal government officials despite not being an official governmental entity. These entities are often funded by globalists who push election-regulating concepts onto their government official members, who in turn enact those concepts in their respective states, even down to the county level. Legislation and lawsuits will be needed to address, limit and prevent this phenomenon of affecting changes in state elections outside of the state legislature.

PVR — Printed Vote Record

This is not a real ballot. It is a blank piece of ballot paper which creates the illusion of an official paper ballot, but is something new altogether. This record is a receipt for your 100% electronic ballot, one YOU will not be able to identify as your own, as perhaps others may be able to decipher which ballot is yours. A PVR is a receipt which is marked with a mysterious QR code, and one which can more easily be fraudulently inserted, reproduced or adjudicated without detection. A real ballot is prepared according to state law, contains all races listed and you are able to mark your selection out of a displayed list of options per race. PVRs only show your selections, and have been reported to inaccurately record and reflect even those. [Link]

CVR — Cast Vote Record

This is the electronic and allegedly elusive record of your 100% electronic ballot. Whether your county uses PVRs and calls them “Ballots” or has no paper trail at all, the CVR is often treated as the official record, against HAVA regulations stating the paper ballot is the official record, to the detriment of our ability to properly and timely audit our election results.

EMS — Election Management System

This is a computer located at a county’s main Election Center which is loaded with a tabulation program developed by a given computerized voting system manufacturer. This will be where all electronic copies of records are taken after the polls close. Here is where final tabulation for every precinct and polling location will take place, also where the unofficial and official results are reported out from. There is a high likelihood that your county’s EMS is tied into CLARITY ELECTIONS which is the company also known as SCYTL.

BMD — Ballot Marking Device/ EBM — Electronic Ballot Marker

These devices are part of the Hybrid Voting Systems debuted by HART Intercivic, ES&S, Dominion and other voting system manufacturers. This device is capable of printing onto a PVR (false ballot) your selections made from the touch screen. BMDs are described as “dumb machines” which do only what the programming and user command. These devices must not be able to connect to the internet, no modem should exist in this piece of equipment.

DRE — Direct Recording Electronic [System]

This device preceded the BMD and has no paper trail of any kind. The only record produced from these devices are the CVRs. Many counties who have not applied for HAVA funds to upgrade their computerized systems to include a PVR are still using DRE voting systems. Legislation is needed to address the modern use of such a system, which has been certified for use by several Secretaries of State, including Texas. [Link]

VVSG — Volunteer Voting System Guidelines

The Voluntary Voting System Guidelines are guidelines adopted by the United States Election Assistance Commission for the certification of voting systems. EAC standards were adapted from once-mandatory minimum standards as set out by the FEC, who held such authority prior to the 2002 Help America Vote Act. [Link]

VSS — Voting System Standards

These are mandatory minimum standards laid out by the FEC relating to voting systems in use for official elections across the U.S. Unlike the VVSG, these standards were not voluntary. In 2002 HAVA transferred the authority to create voting system standards from the FEC to the EAC. This transfer initiated the metamorphosis of once MANDATED standards to seemingly voluntary standards for use of computerized voting systems in official U.S. elections. [Link]

CWPPP — Countywide Polling Place Program

A Texas Law, 43.007, which was drafted in total contrast to Chapter 66 of the Texas Election Code, which pushes the move away from in-precinct voting requirements. This concept comes in many forms and is used in many states during either or both early voting or election day. This is one of several provisions that has removed a county’s ability to properly, timely and cost effectively audit election results by precinct.[Link]

RLA — Risk Limiting Audit

A risk-limiting audit (RLA) is a post-election auditing procedure which claims to provide evidence that the reported outcome in an election contest is correct. In actuality, the sample size taken and the methods used are not wholly convincing. This type of false audit is not designed to truly gather a realistic sample, but is designed to limit the scope and, thereby, limit the odds of inaccuracies detected in a given sample. These are not real audits, citizens should be aware that real audits do not focus on fragmented, miniscule data, but rather on true, full sets of data. [Link]

ERIC — Electronic Registration Information Center

The Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) is a non-profit organization with the sole mission of assisting states to improve the accuracy of America’s voter rolls and increase access to voter registration for all eligible citizens. ERIC is governed and managed by secretaries of states who choose to join, and was formed in 2012 with assistance from The Pew Charitable Trusts. States are invoiced for dues based on their voting population, and secretaries of state are allegedly provided regular reports from ERIC. What this program actually does, however, is not widely understood as their activities are opaque and the entity is not held accountable to the public for issues discovered in state and local registration files. [Link]

RCV/ IRV — Ranked Choice Voting/ Instant Runoff Voting

Ranked choice voting (RCV) — also known as instant runoff voting (IRV) is a style of casting votes which prompts voters to select more than one option for a given race based on preference. If a voter’s first preference loses, that voter’s second preference is used as their vote. If a voter’s second choice loses, their third choice is counted as their vote. Despite its proponents describing the process as “straightforward” and fair, it is widely considered a ridiculous practice. [Link]

Federal Legislation

HAVA — Help America Vote Act

This piece of federal legislation was designed to financially incentivise, down to the county level, the move toward fully computerized voting systems across the nation, while preserving the paper record concept. Voting system manufacturers then introduced their “Hybrid” voting systems, which give the illusion of a paper ballot, the PVR. Among other items, HAVA established the requirement for any voting machine certified for use to produce an auditable paper trail.

Article 1, Section 4 of the National Constitution limits the federal government from controlling too closely state election procedures, so this regulation was necessary to achieve the goal of essentially bribing states to remove traditional election security measures in favor of opaque, computerized processes which cannot be audited properly. This is a subtle way of federalizing our state elections. Well played. There are a few provisions in HAVA which can be stood upon to demand more auditable systems, for example - the Auditable Paper Trail requirement that demands a Paper Record be considered the official record. We can work with this until we amend or repeal HAVA. [Link]

UOCAVA — Uniformed and Overseas Citizen Absentee Voting Act

UOCAVA citizens are U.S. citizens who are active members of the Uniformed Services, the Merchant Marine, and the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, their eligible family members, and U.S. citizens residing outside the United States. This Act provides the legal basis for these citizens' absentee voting requirements in elections for federal offices. [Link]

MOVE Act — Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act

This Act amended UOCAVA and other statutes by providing greater protections for Service Members, their eligible family members and other overseas citizens. Among other provisions, the MOVE Act requires States to send absentee ballots to UOCAVA voters at least 45 days before federal elections. [Link]

VSTL — Voting Systems Test Lab

Required by Section 231(b) of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 (42 U.S.C. §15371(b)), the EAC must provide for the accreditation and revocation of accreditation of independent, non-federal laboratories qualified to test voting systems to Federal standards. [Link]

NIST — National Institute for Science and Technology

NIST helps to establish which testing labs are fit to evaluate computerized voting system standards. Participation in these testing standards and EAC accreditation procedures is voluntary, but the EAC claims that participating entities are required to adhere to all EAC standards. [Link]

USPS CoA — United States Postal Service Change of Address (PS Form 3575)

This form is used by citizens who move so that any residual mail might be forwarded to their new address. Occasionally this form is used by state and county governments to compare registrations and remove out of date entries. We have seen evidence that this data can be used to track voters who leave states and to send them mail in ballots, potentially diluting citizen votes for federal elections, and abusing local elections, by counting ballots for citizens both in their former and current states. [Link]

FOIA — Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act is the U.S. federal law that requires the full or partial disclosure of government activity and communications, even previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government, upon request. [Link]

PIA — Public Information Act (TX)

A Texas Act, many states have their own respective versions, outlining the rights of citizens to inspect all information afforded by their tax dollars, or pertaining to their elected and appointed state and local officials. [Link]

Registration Systems

ePoll Book — Computerized Voter Check-Ins

In the past states and counties have used paper poll books that contain a list of eligible voters in the political subdivision. E-poll books, which typically come in the form of a laptop or tablet, have the ability to do much more than look up eligible voters. [Link]

Tenex — Total Election Management System

TENEX provides everything from ePoll books and troubleshooting software to election night reporting and inventory management. This system has been under question since rumors stemming from the Mueller investigation era suggested that Russia had hacked a Florida based election system software company prior to the 2016 election. [Link]

SDR — Same-Day Registration

SDR is the idea that would authorize citizens to register to vote or update their registration the same day they cast their ballot as opposed to Texas state law requiring registrations be completed 30 days prior to the next election. This could happen under several circumstances either on Election Day or before Election Day; (1) individuals who register to vote on the same day that they cast a ballot in person; (2) individuals who register to vote in person, either at an election office or at a polling place, and who receive a mail ballot on the same day that they register; and (3) individuals who register to vote on the same day that they cast a ballot due to special circumstances in their state’s or territory’s law (e.g., individuals who vote for federal offices only, or individuals who move between states after a registration deadline in a presidential election year). This is being pushed by certain organizations, a link has been provided to one of them below. Texas poll watchers believe they have witnessed this happening at polling locations. [Link]

Voter Registration Transaction — Record of Voter Registrations/ Updates

A unit of work performed to a voter registration record within a voter registration database. Transactions may involve adding a new registration record, updating the record of an existing registered voter (such as updating the voter’s name, contact information, or address), or removing a record if the individual is no longer an eligible voter in the jurisdiction in which they are currently registered. Multiple transactions may be performed on one voter registration record during the period between the close of registration for the 2022 general election and the close of registration for the 2024 general election. In addition, when a voter moves between jurisdictions, it may trigger registration transactions in the jurisdiction in which the voter was previously registered as well as in the jurisdiction in which the voter is newly registered. There should be a lawful record of every transaction, whether on paper or digital, a new registration or an update, of every voter in the county and state registration files. [Link]

Automatic Registration Program — Digital Registration of Voters

A program that automatically registers eligible voters whenever they interact with government agencies (e.g., departments of motor vehicles [DMV]) unless the individual opts out (either at the point of service or in a post-transaction mailer). • Confirmation notice: A notice mailed to a voter to confirm changes made to their information in a database of registered voters. The notice may request that the voter take an action to confirm that the information contained in the notice is accurate. Some of these notices are sent pursuant to NVRA Section 8 (d) (1) (B) and Section 8 4 (d) (2). States that are exempt from NVRA requirements may send confirmation notices for other reasons, and some states that send confirmation notices pursuant to the NVRA may have additional confirmation notice programs mandated by state law. Some states may refer to these notices as “removal notices”; removal notices should be reported in EAVS only if they meet the criteria established above. Examples of situations in which confirmation notices may be sent include an indication that the registrant no longer resides in the local jurisdiction, the voter has not voted or appeared to vote in a federal election for a certain number of elections, or the voter may be incarcerated or have received a criminal conviction that makes them ineligible to vote under their state’s law. [Link]

Voting Systems

Paper System — The Traditional Voting Method

Paper Voting Systems entail hand-marked, hand-counted paper ballots with precinct-based paper poll books. This system has worked for American elections for over 200 years. The argument FOR paper voting systems does not claim that fraud cannot be committed, but that it is much easier to detect, trace, secure and prosecute. [Link]

Hybrid Voting — The “Paper Based” Lie

Hybrid Voting Systems are made up of 100% computerized processes with a PVR (receipt) marked by a BMD (ballot marking device) in place of a hand-marked ballot. Use of a hybrid voting system appears to have bridged the demand from states whose legislatures have ordered use of paper ballots. Voting system manufacturers have sold these to counties across the nation, who implement their use for all voters, despite the original intent for use by disabled voters. [Link]

Scanner/ Tabulator — On-Site Tabulation of Cast Ballot Totals

The final step in casting your in-person ballot in a paper based or hybrid voting system, this is the machine which scans your printed ballot and drops it into a ballot box and ballot bag. This machine has one to two thumb drives inside recording two copies of the results collected on that particular machine. These machines produce tapes at the close of polls showing candidate totals and can be used with hand-marked ballots as well as PVR receipts printed from the BMDs. [Link]

STAR Vote (TX) — Secure, Transparent, Auditable, Reliable Vote[ing] System

Designed by Dana DeBeauvoir in Travis County, Texas, along with Microsoft employees, staff from multiple WOKE Universities, and foreign “experts” and acquired by DARPA in 2019, the STAR (TX) Vote system is the latest in computerized voting systems. Read about the brainchild of Phillip Stark, Dan Wallach, Dana DeBeauvoir, and other former election security experts who no longer believe in the need to secure elections here.

STAR Vote (OR) — Score Then Automatic Runoff [Voting]

Another example of RCV/ IRV where voters select multiple choices and the resulting highest scoring candidates are entered into an automatic runoff. Read more here.

COTSC — Commercial Off The Shelf Components

Many voting system manufacturers and software developers have had commercial, off the shelf components approved to run their election system software. There is no list of certified COTSC hardware or software available, as these components are not considered to have any degree of risk in running election system software. The voting system manufacturers are who advise the counties which COTSC machines or devices should be used with their programs, and no certification is ever performed on these components. [Link]

Computerized Voting System Manufacturers

ES&S — Election Systems & Software (Omaha, NE)

American Information Systems acquired the Election Services Division of Business Records Corporation and was reincorporated as Election Systems & Software, Inc. in December 1997. As a result of this merger, ES&S became the largest voting system vendor in the United States. The company's offerings include vote tabulators, direct-recording electronic (DRE) machines, voter registration and election management systems, ballot-marking devices (BMDs), electronic poll books, Ballot on Demand printing services, and absentee voting-by-mail services.

Express Poll — ES&S Electronic Poll Book https://www.essvote.com/products/expresspoll/

BOD — ES&S Ballot On Demand Ballot Printer https://www.essvote.com/products/ballot-on-demand/

Express Vote — ES&S Ballot Marking Device (BMD) https://www.essvote.com/products/expressvote/

DS200 Scanner/Tabulator — ES&S Ballot Scanner/ Vote Counter for Polling Locations https://www.essvote.com/products/ds200/

DS450 Scanner/Tabulator — ES&S High Speed In-Person Ballot Scanner and Counter https://www.essvote.com/products/ds450/

DS950 Scanner/Tabulator — ES&S High Speed Absentee and In-Person Ballot Scanner and Counter https://www.essvote.com/products/ds950/

Full Product List — https://www.essvote.com/products/

HART InterCivic — A 100 yr Old Texas Ballot Printing Company

In 1989 it spun off as a subsidiary of HART Graphics to form HART Forms & Services, then rebranded again in 1995 as HART Information Services, Inc. Within five years HART had acquired Texas County Printing & Services, Computer Link Corporation, and Worldwide Election Systems - the latter of which designed the e-Slate, a DRE device. In the year 2000, HART Information Services became HART InterCivic - a rebrand designed to depict the company’s corporate goal of servicing state and local governments. In the mid-2000s HART entered and then exited the Geographic Information Systems to acquire and spin off Farragut Systems. HART received "a strategic investment" from H.I.G. Capital in 2011. As of July 2020, H.I.G. no longer listed ownership in the company on its website. A Qui-Tam complaint was brought by one former employee alleging false statements from HART related to the accuracy, testing, reliability and security of their own systems. Read the details here.

e-Slate — HART’s DRE (Direct Recording Electronic Device) in Paperless Voting System.

This device produces no paper record at all and the only records for any given election where these devices are used will be the CVRs.

Verity Duo — HART’s “Hybrid” Voting System (BMD)

This device is a BMD (Ballot Marking Device) which produces (marks/ prints) a paper record often referred to as a “ballot” but which is actually a “PVR” (Printed Vote Record). This PVR shows only selections made, a QR code and occasionally a lawful ballot number.

Controller — Programming for Verity Duos

This device is where the election information is programmed and sent to the HART VERITY DUO Ballot Marking Devices. It is described as the “brain” for the “dumb” DUO BMDs. The DUOs allegedly can only do what the Controller allows them to do.

Verity Scanner/ Tabulator — On-Site Tabulation of Cast Ballot Totals

This device is what tabulates totals for candidates and measures per your vote, allegedly. This device has a seal on the inner door where proprietary HART VERITY thumb drives (V-Drives) are loaded with the results. These V-Drives are used at RALLY STATIONS to transmit results over the internet using HART Verity TRANSMIT machines, which can be located at the county’s elections office.

V-Drives — HART Verity Brand Thumb Drives Inside Controllers and Scanners.

This is a thumb drive encrypted with HART Verity software and updates which are used to program the controllers with the proper election and software updates used to control the BMDs. These devices are wiped after 60 post election for reuse, a potential violation of TX EC 66.058 PRESERVATION OF PRECINCT ELECTION RECORDS. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this code, the precinct election records shall be preserved by the authority to whom they are distributed for at least 22 months after election day.

Transmit/ Relay/ Rally Machines — Wireless Transmission of Cast Ballots

The elusive HART Transmit/ Relay/ Rally (ever-changing terms makes it hard to track the use of these devices across counties and states) machines are identical to HART’s Verity controllers, Duo BMDs and scanners, with the notable difference that the Transmits are fully capable of connecting to the internet and transmitting results (cast ballot totals) to a remote location. These are often used at what are called “Rally Sites” (often polling locations) to transmit results to the Central Counting station prior to the delivery of the official records known as the paper ballots.

Verity Central — High Speed Scanning System for Mail-In Ballots

High speed scanner and software for processing mail-in ballots at the county elections office. Images of all mail ballots are captured, prior to the lawful time of tabulation. This software allegedly images the ballots for weeks prior to election day without tabulating any results. Once tabulation occurs, using this same software, Verity Central software begins electronic adjudication of ballots flagged by HART Verity software as an issue for tabulation. The software decides what the ballot says and county election staff allegedly approve the adjudications of each ballot. This is where over a third of Tarrant County’s 2020 General Election Mail-In ballots were adjudicated due to issues with tabulation of the Runbeck-printed mail-in ballots.

HART Paper System — HART System for Printing Hand-Marked Ballots https://www.hartintercivic.com/paper/

HART Hybrid System — HART System for Computerized Voting with PVRs https://www.hartintercivic.com/hybrid/

HART By Mail System — HART System for Printing and Processing Mail-In Ballots https://www.hartintercivic.com/vbm/

DOMINION Voting Systems — The Global Option

A Canadian company and global distributor of electronic voting hardware and software, including voting machines and tabulators. A subsidiary of PREMIER Election Solutions and Sequoia Voting Systems. The company's headquarters are in Toronto, Ontario, and Denver, Colorado. It develops software in offices in the United States, Canada, and Serbia. Dominion voting machines have been used in countries around the world, primarily in Canada and the United States. [Link]

Premier Election Solutions — Formerly DIEBOLD Election Systems, Inc.

In 2006 DIEBOLD Election Systems decided to remove its name from their voting machines as part of a “ strategic decision on the part of the corporation". In August 2007 Diebold Election Systems changed its name to "Premier Election Solutions". Premier Election Solutions was acquired by ES&S in September of 2009. [Link]

As part of a 2010 antitrust lawsuit filed by the DOJ, ES&S was forced to sell off part of this acquisition. Dominion Voting Systems acquired Premier in May of 2010. [Link] [Link]

Sequoia Voting Systems — Bankrupt Since Selling to Dominion

A California company. Formerly one of the largest providers of electronic voting systems in the U.S., with offices in Oakland, Denver and New York City. Major competitors were Premier Election Solutions (formerly Diebold Election Systems) and Election Systems & Software.

Sequoia obtained the Optech line of ballot scanners from Business Records Corporation in 1997 as a consequence of antitrust action from the U.S. Dept. of Justice after American Information Systems merged with the Election Services Division of Business Records Corporation to form ES&S. However, ES&S retained the right to sell and service Optech scanners to existing customers, so the ES&S Optech IV-C and the Sequoia Optech 400-C, are the same product sold under different make and model names.

In March of 2005, Sequoia was acquired by Smartmatic, a multinational technology company founded by three Venezuelan software engineers, which had developed advanced election systems, including voting machines. Smartmatic machines and software were used in the 2004 Venezuelan recall referendum. Multiple studies were conducted and reports were released seeming to depict serious concerns amounting to FRAUD, resulting in favor of dictator Hugo Chávez.

In November of 2007 the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), ordered Smartmatic to sell Sequoia. Smartmatic executives sold it to the Sequoia managers having U.S. citizenship.

In August of 2007, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen withdrew approval of Sequoia Voting Systems optical scan and DRE voting machines after a "review of the voting machines certified for use in California in March 2007 "found "significant security weaknesses throughout the Sequoia system" and "pervasive structural weaknesses" which raise "serious questions as to whether the Sequoia software can be relied upon to protect the integrity of elections”. Read the details of this issue here.

In 2007 Dan Rather published an investigative report alleging Sequoia deliberately supplied poor quality punch-card ballots to Palm Beach County, Florida for the 2000 Presidential election. Former Sequoia employees claimed that the ballots for Palm Beach County were manufactured using processes outside of normal specifications. This was allegedly the cause of the "hanging chads". Sequoia management ordered the production staff to ignore manufacturing issues. One worker speculated that the goal was to discredit punch-card ballots in order to promote nationwide use of electronic voting machines.

Much of Sequoia’s catalog of products was sold to Dominion Voting Systems in June of 2010. Almost four years later, in February of 2014, Sequoia filed for bankruptcy. [Link] [Link]

GEMS — Global Election Management Systems

Software originally created by Premier Election Solutions, sold to ES&S and then obtained from ES&S by DOMINION Voting Systems. Reports show that roughly 25% of US elections use the GEMS software. There is significant concern over the use of this software and it is reported to be easily permeated. A detailed report on established issues with GEMS can be found here.

CLARITY ELECTIONS/ SCYTL — Election Results Reporting Tool

Clarity (SCYTL) is a Spanish company, contracted at the County level, which receives and reports totals allegedly sent from the County’s elections office on Election Night. This is the record of your county’s totals reported as of Election Night and are updated at the County Election Administrator’s behest. [Link] [Link]

Items for an Auditable Paper Trail

VVPAT — Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail

Another term for a PVR, a printed vote record, but this time adding emphasis on the voter’s ability to double check that the BMD accurately recorded the voter’s choices. Issues with BMD accuracy have been alleged across the nation. [Link]

Paper Ballot — True, Historical Ballots

Hand-Marked by voters, true ballots show all options for given races and the voter marks their preferred candidate or option by hand. These are being phased out and replaced with PVRs (Printed Vote Records) for use in hybrid voting systems, as part of the push to computerize our elections. [Link]

Printed Vote Record — PVRs - Receipts for Electronic Votes

Also known as false ballots, and part of the Hybrid Voting Systems, the PVR is less of a ballot and more of a receipt for your 100% electronic ballot. A receipt that you do not get to keep, and which contains coding which you do not understand. This is not incompetence on the part of citizen voters, but a deliberate obfuscation on part of voting system manufacturers, county and state election officials. Typically you will see a PVR printed with the “summary” of a voter’s alleged selections as opposed to showing all options and indicating the voter’s choice among them. [Link]

Chain of Custody — A Legal Concept of Preserving Records as Evidence

From NIST.gov “A process that tracks the movement of evidence through its collection, safeguarding, and analysis lifecycle by documenting each person who handled the evidence, the date/time it was collected or transferred, and the purpose for any transfers.

From Thoughtco.com “In criminal and civil law, the term “chain of custody” refers to the order in which items of evidence have been handled during the investigation of a case. Proving that an item has been properly handled through an unbroken chain of custody is required for it to be legally accepted as evidence in court…”

When the Chain of Custody for records or documents is broken, incomplete or missing, there is no legal way to use those records as evidence. Broken, incomplete or missing chain of custody forms could throw an entire case in a court of Law.

Machine Tapes — Records Produced from Computerized Voting Machines

These tapes are produced upon the opening and closing of polls throughout the election cycle. Some of these tapes simply show the total number of ballots assigned and cast, and others depict cast vote totals for each candidate and measure on the ballots. These tapes must be produced as part of the paper record trail which cannot be manipulated and which confirm totals for later reconciliation in a potential contest or investigation into a given election cycle.

Full Voter Turnout File — Publicly Available, State/ County-Level Data

These files contain complete sets of data for a given election cycle, identifying each voter by name and Voter ID number, method of voting (Early Vote, Election Day, In-Person or Mail-In), date and location where voter cast their ballot. These files will never show which candidates a voter cast their ballot for, as that is a violation of the voter’s right to cast a secret ballot. Only the voter may disclose who they have voted for. These files can be obtained through the County and State election offices and are often purchased and used by large companies to profile certain areas for political strategy. [Link]

Cumulative Reports — Publicly Available Precinct and County Level Data

These reports are publicly posted on most county and state election websites and should accurately depict total votes per candidate and measure from each county, total votes per that county’s precincts, and most recently, the total votes per that county’s polling locations/vote centers. Historically these reports were compiled by county and precinct alone, though with the latest push away from in-precinct voting we have pushed for subsequent cumulative reports by polling location/vote center along with the required precinct and county reports. They are reported by county [Link] and by precinct [Link] per Texas Law.

Registration Files — State and County Voter Registrations

State and County level files of all current and suspended voters known to the State and each County therein. They come in CSV or EXCEL versions from both the County and State elections offices, and will contain the voter’s name, VUID, address and sometimes birthdate. They are updated through a variety of sources including but not limited to State Registrars, County Registrars, Volunteer Deputy Registrars, Online Applications, Departments of Motor Vehicles and ERIC. [Link]

Material Logs — Polling Location/ Vote Center Documentation Forms

These log forms are required to be completed upon opening and closing of polling locations nationwide. They will record identifying machine data, opening and closing cast ballot totals by machine and location, total materials assigned to location, total materials used by location, total remaining or unused materials, and all seal numbers used in the security of materials per location. The Chain of Custody forms must cover these logs as well as the ballots and machines assigned to each polling location and vote center in a given county for a given election. These logs can be obtained from the appropriate county elections office through a public information act request/ FOIA request.

Other Security Items in Use

Ballot Box — “Secure Containers” for Deposited Cast Ballots

These boxes are used at polling locations by being attached underneath the scanner/tabulators for computerized voting systems. The boxes contain a “BTB - Ballot Transfer Bag” and are allegedly secured in a variety of manners which should be prescribed by the Secretaries of State and the manufacturers. Seals and padlocks should be used in securing these ballot boxes from tampering and unlawful access. These seal numbers, and all the replacement seals, must be added to the logs at each location.

Ballot Transfer Bags — “Secure Containers” for Transferring Voted Ballots

These bags are typically cube-shaped, rigid and secured with a zipper. No access to these bags shall be permitted without bi-partisan witnesses and documentation on Chain of Custody forms. These bags typically hold approximately 3,000 ballots and may be removed and replaced once that threshold is reached. These bags may be secured with numbered seals, which must be recorded on the Chain of Custody forms at each location along with all replacement and transfer data.

Ballot Drop Box — “Secure Containers” for Deposited Mail-In Ballots

These boxes are illegal in the Great State of Texas, but used somewhat frequently throughout the nation. They are typically alleged to be under video surveillance (though such footage has been reported to be poor quality) and secured with serialized seals. Limited access to these drop boxes by county staff has been reported as a security measure, despite the lack of any security measures from access by questionable ballot harvesters and suspiciously registered voters.

HASH Codes — Electronic “Verification” of Certified Software

HASH Codes appear as a series of numbers and letters and are able to be digitally produced upon command from a computer program installed in a given device. Each computerized voting system software program allegedly has a unique hash code associated with each version of the software installed. The code generated upon command from a given version of voting system software should match exactly the code provided to the EAC, the SOS and the county elections office. Any update to the software should be associated with an updated HASH code and should match a publicly accessible certification for the HASH code on the EAC, SOS and county website. [Link] [Link]

Albert Sensors — A Center for Internet Security Product

An Albert Sensor is hardware from the “Albert Network Monitoring and Management System” invented by CIS (Center for Internet Security). This system exists to monitor intrusion into a county’s elections systems by malicious actors with the CIS SOC (Center for Internet Security Security Operations Center). This product and service is in place in many county’s elections systems despite the claim that no election system in the US is connected to the internet. [Link]

Election Administration

Ballot Board — (TX) Absentee Ballot Processing

This is a county level entity responsible for processing mail-in ballots once delivered from voters. They perform the Signature Verification, approval of envelope for acceptance, removal from secrecy envelope, high speed scanning, remaking ballots the machine cannot scan, and witnessing electronic adjudication of votes. [Link]

Central Counting Station — Election Night Tabulation Station

This is the location where ballots are electronically tabulated for official reporting of both unofficial totals and officially certified results. These are the totals sent to the SOS which should match what the SOS reports.

Central Accumulator/ EMS — Election Management System

Again, the tabulation machine and software located at the county’s central count which is responsible for tabulating totals from thumb-drives and other electronic submissions received from polling locations. If your county uses computerized voting systems, that manufacturer's software is likely in the EMS.

Public Machine Testing — Computerized Voting System Procedures

This is a controlled test with an expected set of outcomes to compare with. Oftentimes the voting system manufacturers are involved in various aspects of the public testing. The process of testing tabulation for all candidates and races in an election using a computerized voting system.for accuracy in the election build, ballot marking and tabulation of results. Public observation is usually allowed for this process, however it is a common issue that public participation is not widely known or taken advantage of by county voters.

Certification — Federal and State Level Approval of Voting Systems

Certification for computerized voting systems begins at the federal level with the EAC (Election Assistance Commission) and from there it is the duty of a given state’s Secretary of State to accept and certify the voting systems which their counties may choose from. Certification involves providing HASH Codes to confirm which version is most recently certified by both the EAC and the SOS. [Link]

Limited Ballots (TX) — Ballots Designed for Recently Relocated Citizens

A “Limited Ballot” is the process of allowing a recently relocated and previously registered citizen of a state to vote in their new precinct or county election. This process limits the ballot to statewide and federal offices where applicable, and eliminates offices in areas where the voter no longer lives, and where the voter too recently relocated, while still allowing the offices with less geographical restrictions to be voted on. [Link]

Precinct Splits — Programming Ballot Styles Across a County

According to LawInsider.com, “‘Split precinct’ means a precinct that has a geographical divide between one or more political jurisdictions which results in each jurisdiction within the precinct to be assigned different ballot styles for a specific election.” This process has shown to be susceptible to mistakes in building an election by county. Voters should be sure to make a list of which offices should appear on their ballot and report any discrepancies witnessed during an election. [Link]

Investigative Roles

Poll Watcher/ Election Observer/ Challenger — Election Investigators

Despite recent efforts by the SOS and malicious state legislators, Poll Watchers are vital to the Public’s understanding of actual processes taking place in local elections. Poll Watchers may observe all happenings at a polling location, central count, ballot board or any processing of election records, save for when a voter is marking and casting their ballot. Obstruction of poll watchers is a Class A Misdemeanor in Texas and should be taken very seriously by Law Enforcement and local District Prosecutors. Obstruction of lawfully appointed observers serves only to beget distrust and tension between the citizens and those paid to handle our most sacred records: the ballots and electronic data of the cast ballots. [Link]

At-Home Observer — For Investigators with Physical Constraints

Citizens with physical or time constraints can record totals and obtain records from the comfort of their home, saving on-site poll watchers significant time in making Public Information Act requests for information they cannot obtain while observing the polling locations.

Governmental Organizations

CISA — Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

CISA is an agency within the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) who is charged with the task of maintaining the highest level of cybersecurity and infrastructure across all US government agencies. CISA is deeply involved with MS-ISAC (Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center) and EI-ISAC (Elections Systems Information Sharing and Analysis Center) NGOs. [Link]

FVAP — Federal Voting Assistance Program

The FVAP is a federal assistance program for overseas citizens and military voters. This program provides a federal structure in accordance with UOCAVA, allowing for military and non-military voters to cast their ballot in any election they are eligible to vote in, from anywhere outside of the U.S.[Link]

FPCA — Federal Post Card Application

This is an application process in accordance with UOCAVA, allowing for military and overseas voters to request their ballot be sent to them via the FVAP. [Link]

FWAB — Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot

This is intended to be a backup ballot. The form can be found here. Anyone can vote from anywhere using this form, and regulations may vary from state to state. [Link]

EAC — Election Assistance Commission

This is a governmental organization created to help states with uniformity in issuing guidance on best practice for election procedures related to adherence to federal law. [Link]

[PREVIEW] Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

TAEA — Texas Association of Election Administrators (NGO)

A Texas-themed NGO made up of some of the most experienced Texas elections administrators. The TAEA seems to be focused on bringing uniformity and solidarity to the advancing agenda of installing fully computerized/ electronic voting systems in every local, state and national election via state election administrators. [Link]

TEC — The Election Center (aka National Association of Election Officials)

An NGO made up of some of the most experienced elections officials from across the nation. The Election Center claims to be focused on modernizing voting systems in every local, state and national election via influence over state and national election administrators. [Link]

ERIC — Electronic Registration Information Center (NGO)

ERIC is a program claiming to help streamline voter registrations, the root issue behind unlawfully cast ballots. States can opt into, or out of, the program. Known benefits are not widely understood, though registration files remain untidy, riddled with duplicate entries and inaccuracies. [Link]

CIS — Center for Internet Security (NGO)

The Center for Internet Security is a non-profit NGO focused on continuously evolving global standards and best practices for IT system security. This organization

“CIS is home to the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center® (MS-ISAC®), the trusted resource for cyber threat prevention, protection, response, and recovery for U.S. State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial government entities, and the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center® (EI-ISAC®), which supports the rapidly changing cybersecurity needs of U.S. elections offices.” [Link]

More information on NGOs will be released shortly in a separate index. TBTX is compiling open source data, requiring large quantities of time to compile accurate and concise references. TBTX accepts submissions for terms which should be added to the next edition of our TBTX GLOSSARY of TERMS. Send your suggestions to takingtxback@gmail.com

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©Aubree Campbell 2023