Tag: voting

Colorado Officials Accidentally Sent Out 30,000 Voter Registration Postcards to Noncitizens

Colorado officials claim they accidentally sent approximately 30,000 postcards last month to noncitizens instructing them how they could register to vote.

First reported by Colorado Public Radio News, Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold’s office said department employees had sent the postcards on Sept. 27 after comparing a list of 102,000 names provided by the Electronic Registration Information Center, a nonprofit organization aiming to improve U.S. voter rolls and advocating residents to vote.

“The Department has become aware that approximately 30,000 EBU [Eligible But Unregistered] postcard mailers were incorrectly sent to ineligible Coloradans,” a spokesperson for the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office told local media. “The office is undertaking an internal review of the incident and will take any corrective action that is warranted.”

Griswold insisted noncitizens would not be allowed to register to vote.

The postcards, which the office printed in English and Spanish, read, “A message from Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold . . . Our records indicate that you or your household may be eligible to vote, but do not appear to be registered at your current address.”

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Election Software CEO Arrested Over Data Theft, Storing Data on Servers in China

The head of Konnech Corporation, a Michigan-based software company, was arrested on Oct. 4 for allegedly stealing and storing personal data of Los Angeles County election workers on servers in China.

Konnech’s CEO Eugene Yu, 51, was arrested on charges of stealing “the personal identifying information” of LA County election workers, according to the LA County District Attorney’s Office.

Investigators also seized computer hard drives and other digital data relevant to the case. The office said that it would seek Yu’s extradition to Los Angeles.

According to the office, Konnech won a five-year, $2.9 million contract with LA County in 2020 for an election worker management system—named PollChief software—that was used by the county in the last California election.

The software was designed to assist with poll worker assignments, communications, and payroll, LA County District Attorney George Gascon said in a statement.

Under the contract, Konnech was supposed to securely maintain the data and only provide access to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. But investigators found that it stored the data on servers in China.

“In this case, the alleged conduct had no impact on the tabulation of votes and did not alter election results,” Gascon said. “But security in all aspects of any election is essential so that we all have full faith in the integrity of the election process.”

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DC Council advances bill to let noncitizens vote

Washington, D.C.’s city council on Tuesday voted to advance a bill that would allow noncitizen residents to vote in local elections.  

“Our immigrant neighbors of all statuses participate, contribute and care about our community in our city. They, like all DC residents, deserve a right to have a say in their government,” said D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen, introducing the bill during the Tuesday legislative meeting. 

“They raise families here, contribute to their community. They run businesses that people depend on, and they pay taxes that we decide how to spend. Yet they have no ability to elect local leaders who make decisions about their bodies, their businesses and their tax dollars,” Allen said. 

The bill would allow all noncitizen residents in the city who otherwise meet voting requirements to vote in local elections, including mayoral, school board and attorney general races — regardless of visa or documentation status.

The councilmembers voted 12-1 in favor of the bill on first reading, greenlighting the bill to go ahead for a final vote before it is sent to Mayor Muriel Bowser (D).

The bill comes as D.C. grapples with an influx of migrants transported into the city as Republican governors in three Southern border states protest the Biden administration’s immigration policies.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) alone has bused more than 10,000 migrants north to Democratic-led Washington, D.C., New York City and Chicago.

Abbott directly sent two buses to Vice President Harris’s Naval Observatory residence in D.C. as part of what he calls a protest of “sanctuary cities” and federal immigration policy. The action has drawn fire from many Democrats who say the governor is using the migrants as political pawns.  

Councilmember Mary Cheh was the sole vote against the noncitizen voting bill.

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House Democrats Move to Allow Non-Citizens to Vote in US Elections

Congressional Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee passed an amendment to an elections bill today calling for non-citizens to vote in US elections.

House Judiciary Committee Democrats voted to strike language from an amendment to H.R. 8770 making it clear that non-citizens are ineligible to vote in American elections.

According to the text of the Democrats’ “amendment to the amendment,” the language to be struck from the legislation reads “nothing in this section may be construed to permit any noncitizens to vote in a Federal election, or to encourage or require a State or political subdivision to permit any noncitizen to vote in a State or local election.”

Under H.R. 8770, which is making its way through the House of Representatives right now,  Democrats aim to “expand the voluntary opportunities for translations in elections.”

In other words, they want to make it easier for non-English speakers and, evidently, non-citizens, to vote in American elections.

In a breaking news tweet announcing the Democrats’ move, the House Judiciary GOP wrote that “there’s no hiding it. Democrats WANT non-citizens voting in our elections.”

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Dominion Voting Machine Bought for $7.99 at Goodwill and Sold on eBay For $1,200

A Dominion voting machine was purchased for $7.99 on Goodwill’s website and sold on eBay for $1,200 last month.

Authorities are now investigating how the machine ended up for sale in the first place.

The machine was first purchased by Ohio-based Uber driver Ean Hutchison, who resells tech items on eBay.

Though the machine was only listed as “AVALUE TECHNOLOGY Touch Panel SID-15V-Z37-B1R,” Hutchinson knew that it was a voting machine.

“Own a piece of history!” Hutchison’s eBay listing read, according to a report from CNN. “This voting machine was one of thousands used in the 2020 United States presidential election and included in one of the many lawsuits against Dominion that were thrown out.”

Hutchinson started the bidding at $250, but included an option to skip the auction and purchase it for $1,200.

It was purchased for the “Buy It Now” price by Harri Hursti, a Connecticut cybersecurity expert, who was in HBO’s documentary “Kill Chain: The Cyber War on America’s Elections.”

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