A company that sells vote counting machines is facing a class action lawsuit that alleges its voting systems are subject to unnecessary monitoring and vulnerable to manipulation.

Plaintiff Anthony I. Provitola filed the election class action lawsuit on Monday, claiming that this vulnerability in the voting system sold by Election Systems & Sofware LLC may put the outcome of the 2016 election at risk.

According to the vote counting machine class action lawsuit, Election Systems has sold certain vote counting machines and election management systems to many jurisdictions since 2014.

In addition to providing the mechanism by which to count and tabulate votes, Election Systems also provided software for the voting systems along with any software updates.

“The principle/premise upon which this action is based is that no person or organization, directly or through software or device, should have or be allowed to have any opportunity to either monitor, observe, or have any other contact with the data representing votes in an election, other than persons and/or organizations specifically authorized by law to conduct the election,” the voting system class action lawsuit claims.

Provitola states that Election Systems has made assurances online and through advertisements about its responsibility to safeguard democracy through the manner in which its software counts votes.

The Election Systems class action lawsuit states that the voting systems must be connected to a communication device (such as a modem) in order to receive software updates and to report the vote count.

Provitola asserts that the requirement to have the voting systems connected to a communication device is unnecessary for the functioning of the voting system, and makes the voting systems vulnerable to monitoring or manipulation.

According to the Election Systems class action lawsuit, someone with knowledge of the software could benefit from the monitoring and/or manipulation of the voting systems by: 1) learning about the voting results and recruiting additional voters to counter the results; 2) alter the votes that have been recorded; and/or 3) by altering the transmissions about the votes that have been cast.

“Such activity, if performed skillfully, is unlikely to be sufficiently detectable to warrant a recount of the paper ballots originally counted by [vote counting machines] under the laws of the voting jurisdiction which allow for recounts only where a substantial margin of victory in the vote has not occurred,” the Election Systems class action lawsuit states.

Provitola sees to certify a Class defined as: “All United States citizens who are registered voters in the voting jurisdictions that have purchased vote counting machines and/or election management systems from Election Systems & Software LLC or its predecessors, subsidiaries or other affiliates for the use of counting and tabulating the votes cast by said registered voters during the period of four years prior to and extending to the filing date of this Complaint.”

Provitola has asked the court to order Election Systems & Software to notify all jurisdictions to which it has sold a vote counting machine or software to disconnect the systems from communication devices during the 2016 general election.

The voting system class action lawsuit asserts claims for negligence and breach of implied and express warranty. He seeks injunctive relief, actual damages, costs, pre- and post-judgment interest, and any other relief deemed appropriate by the court.

The proposed Class is represented by Anthony I. Provitola PA.

The Election Systems & Software Class Action Lawsuit is Anthony I. Provitola v. Election Systems & Software LLC, Case No. 1:16-cv-00314, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Gainesville Division.

We tell you about cash you can claim EVERY WEEK! Sign up for our free newsletter. Email *

Country * United States Canada United Kingdom Other

Name This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

ATTORNEY ADVERTISING Top Class Actions is a Proud Member of the American Bar Association LEGAL INFORMATION IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE Top Class Actions Legal Statement ©2008 – 2020 Top Class Actions® LLC Various Trademarks held by their respective owners This website is not intended for viewing or usage by European Union citizens.

Please note: Top Class Actions is not a settlement administrator or law firm. Top Class Actions is a legal news source that reports on class action lawsuits, class action settlements, drug injury lawsuits and product liability lawsuits. Top Class Actions does not process claims and we cannot advise you on the status of any class action settlement claim. You must contact the settlement administrator or your attorney for any updates regarding your claim status, claim form or questions about when payments are expected to be mailed out.

Related Posts