DALLAS (KRLD) - Progressive groups are asking 29 Texas counties to switch voting machines ahead of the 2020 elections.
The ACLU of Texas, Public Citizen and Protect Democracy are urging the counties to switch to systems that provide a paper record of every vote that can be audited in case of cyber malfunction.
Protect Democracies Jamila Benkato says the counties in question use digital systems and have no plans to change. She says Texas is one of the last states that allows paperless voting systems.
"Even within Texas, counties are getting smart, they are prioritizing systems that can be audited, we are trying to do our part to push counties to make those choices in the urgent fashion that's called for." She calls this an urgent national security issue. "There's widespread bi-partisan consensus at the highest level of the US intelligence community that US election systems are in the crosshairs, especially going into 2020."
The letter to the 29 counties details flaws found in current machines, including vulnerable ports used to network machines together, programming errors that allow execution of malware and insecure or nonexistent cryptography.
Benkato says, "Texas is rich in computer and cyber security experts who not only are experts on election systems, but who are willing and able to provide advice and guidance as counties make these really critical decisions."
The most populous county in Texas, Harris, is on the list.
The letter was sent to the following counties:
Bee County
Brown County
Burnet County
Cass County
Fannin County
Fort Bend County
Galveston County
Grimes County
Hale County
Hardin County
Harris County
Hill County
Hood County
Howard County
Hunt County
Jim Wells County
Kendall County
Kerr County
Matagorda County
McLennan County
Montgomery County
Palo Pinto County
Upshur County
Webb County
Wharton County
Wichita County
Wise County
Wood County
Victoria County