Tipsheet

It Looks As Though Dominion, Smartmatic Played a Part in DHS' Election Defense

The Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a statement last week defending the integrity of the 2020 election. The problem, however, is two of the main election software companies that have been called into question – Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic – sit on CISA. And that information was never disclosed, the Epoch Times reported.

Below is the the joint statement put out by the Executive Committee of the Election Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council (GCC) and the Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Council (SCC):

“The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history. Right now, across the country, election officials are reviewing and double checking the entire election process prior to finalizing the result. 

“When states have close elections, many will recount ballots. All of the states with close results in the 2020 presidential race have paper records of each vote, allowing the ability to go back and count each ballot if necessary. This is an added benefit for security and resilience. This process allows for the identification and correction of any mistakes or errors. There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.

“Other security measures like pre-election testing, state certification of voting equipment, and the U.S. Election Assistance Commission’s (EAC) certification of voting equipment help to build additional confidence in the voting systems used in 2020.

“While we know there are many unfounded claims and opportunities for misinformation about the process of our elections, we can assure you we have the utmost confidence in the security and integrity of our elections, and you should too. When you have questions, turn to elections officials as trusted voices as they administer elections.”

The two election software companies are members of the GCC's Sector Coordinating Council:

  • Amazon Web Services (AWS)
  • Arrikan, Inc./Chaves Consulting, Inc.
  • Associated Press (AP) Elections
  • BPro, Inc.
  • Clear Ballot Group
  • Crosscheck
  • DemTech Voting Solutions
  • Democracy Live
  • Democracy Works
  • DMF Associates
  • Dominion Voting Systems
  • Election Systems & Software (ES&S)
  • Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC)
  • Freeman, Craft, McGregor Group
  • Hart InterCivic
  • KNOWInk
  • Microsoft 
  • Microvote General Corp.
  • NTS Data Services
  • PCC Technology Inc.
  • Pro V&V
  • Runbeck Election Services
  • SCYTL
  • SLI Compliance
  • Smartmatic
  • Tenex Software Solutions
  • The Canton Group
  • Unisyn Voting Solutions
  • Voatz
  • VOTEC
  • Votem
  • Voting Works
  • VR Systems

According to the Election Infrastructure Subsector Coordinating Council Charter, the goal of the group is to "advance the physical security, cyber security, and emergency preparedness of the nation’s election infrastructure, in accordance with existing U.S. law" and "serve as the primary liaison between the election subsector and federal, state, and local agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), concerning private election subsector security and emergency preparedness issues."

CISA's goal, on the other hand, is to work "collaboratively with those on the front lines of elections—state and local governments, election officials, federal partners, and vendors—to manage risks to the Nation’s election infrastructure

State and local election officials decide what voting software and programs to use and CISA has no control over that. 

Interestingly enough, I received an email tonight from Dominion about "setting the record straight." They cited the above statement as reason to trust them but failed to disclose their CISA connection.

Here's some of the bigger points made in their email:

Dominion Voting Systems categorically denies false assertions about vote switching and software issues with our voting systems.

According to a Joint Statement by the federal government agency that oversees U.S. election security, the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity, & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA): "There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised." The government & private sector councils that support this mission called the 2020 election "the most secure in American history."

...

3) Dominion is a nonpartisan U.S. company 

Dominion has no ownership relationships with the Pelosi family, Feinstein family, Clinton Global Initiative, Smartmatic, Scytl, or any ties to Venezuela. Dominion works with all U.S. political parties; our customer base and our government outreach practices reflect this nonpartisan approach.

  • As reported by the Associated Press, "Dominion made a one-time philanthropic commitment at a Clinton Global Initiative meeting in 2014, but the Clinton Foundation has no stake or involvement in Dominion’s operations, the nonprofit has confirmed." The meeting included bipartisan attendees focused on international democracy-building.
  • There have been no "raids" of Dominion servers by the U.S. military or otherwise, and Dominion does not have servers in Germany.

...

7) Assertions of voter fraud conspiracies are 100% false 

All U.S. voting systems must provide assurance that they work accurately and reliably as intended under federal U.S. EAC and state certification and testing requirements. Election safeguards—from testing and certification of voting systems, to canvassing and auditing—prevent malicious actors from tampering with vote counts and ensure that final vote tallies are accurate. Read more from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

This isn't the first time Dominion's software has been called into question. Democrats voiced concern over the software last December. The Denver Post warned about their election security earlier this year. The Michigan GOP said a software glitch caused 6,000 votes to flip from Trump to Biden, although the Michigan Secretary of State said that wasn't the case. It's one of the reasons Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said the legal process needs to play out in the courts. 

One of President Trump's attorneys, Sidney Powell, on Sunday said the team has evidence of election fraud relating to Dominion and Smartmatic's voting software.

UPDATE:

The Trump campaign has since released a statement about former federal prosecutor Sidney Powell, saying she is no longer part of President Trump’s legal team. The reason or the change is unclear. Details about her departure, and whether she was fired, were not provided.