The effort was led by Citizens for Better Elections and a group of activists, the Protect Our Vote Philly Coalition, which for months urged Philadelphia elections officials not to choose the ExpressVote XL. After city elections administrators chose the system, activists unsuccessfully called for the decision to be overturned. They also lobbied other counties, but ultimately decided they should go to the state, said Kevin Skoglund, chief technologist for Citizens for Better Elections and a leader in the effort to promote hand-marked paper ballots over electronic machines.