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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRussian w/ close ties to Putin bought Maryland voter registration platform
Last edited Sat Jul 14, 2018, 05:49 AM - Edit history (2)
Top Maryland officials say the FBI told them this week that the state's voter registration platform was purchased by a Russian oligarch in 2015, without state officials knowing. The FBI did not indicate a breach occurred, but state officials say they're moving forward with a full review.
"We were briefed late yesterday, along with Governor Hogan, by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that the software vendor who maintains portions of the State Board of Elections voter registration platform was purchased by a Russian investor in 2015, without the knowledge of state officials," Maryland State Senate President Thomas Mike Miller, Jr. and Maryland House Speaker Michael Busch, said in a joint statement Friday.
State officials say they were told they were told their voter registration system, ByteGrid LLC, is financed by AltPoint Capital Partners, whose fund manager is "a Russian" and largest investor is Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin. ByteGrid LLC performs a vast array of voting-related functions for the state, including voter registration, the state's online voter registration system, online ballot delivery and unofficial election night results.
"While the FBI did not indicate that there was a breach, we were concerned enough to ask Attorney General [Brian] Frosh to review the existing contractual obligation of the state, as well as asked for a review of the system to ensure there have been no breaches," Miller and Busch said.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/maryland-voter-registration-platform-russian-oligarch/
Oh and look here, hes got close ties to Vladimir Putin
https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/30/politics/full-us-list-of-russian-oligarchs-with-putin-ties-intl/index.html
octoberlib
(14,971 posts)allowed to buy a voter registration platform?
Squinch
(50,901 posts)NewJeffCT
(56,828 posts)for that matter
groundloop
(11,513 posts)octoberlib
(14,971 posts)secure for any foreigner to own voting platforms?
UCmeNdc
(9,600 posts)Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)Maryland was my first thought. But if the platform was purchased by the State before the oligarch bought into the company there may not have been any way to know? Unless they periodically checked ownership with the secretary of state the LLC was formed in. It should be part of ongoing routine.
Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)Them that a part of an LLC was sold. Especially if it is nefarious.
octoberlib
(14,971 posts)Money- launderers use them.
Vinca
(50,236 posts)Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)Voters off. When I work the polls there are lots of people turned away who are not on lists and aren't even sure if they did or didn't register.
Orangepeel
(13,933 posts)Maryland switched to optical scanning of paper ballots for the 2016 election
http://marylandreporter.com/2013/11/19/maryland-prepares-move-back-to-paper-ballots-for-elections/
Good thing, too, since in the primary last month, a few races ended up with single digit wins. They are still recounting the ballots in the primary for Baltimore County executive!
https://bsun.md/2KTQA9N
Lonestarblue
(9,958 posts)We also know that Russians hacked into the voting systems of 39 states. Our election systems are not safe. For the 2018 election, we should all insist on paper ballots (to be held as backup for at least six months instead of being shredded after scanning as some states do). We also need multiple monitors from both major parties overseeing the scanning of completed ballots, as well as a hand count as backup to ensure that the programming of vote totals has not been hacked. Hackers have shown that it takes seconds for them to gain access to the computerized systems that most states use. We do not know whether Russia changed any votes in 2016, but they (or any other hackers) could easily do so. Absent a hand count of paper ballots, independent computer experts should be on hand to monitor the programming at the time vote totals are calculated to ensure that no programming changes undercount or overcount votes from certain precincts. For example, it would be very easy to program the aggregation of votes to count mostly Republican precincts at 1.05% and mostly Democratic precincts at 0.95%, thus changing the outcome in close races. Without precautions like this, we have no way of knowing whether the people the voters choose are the winners and our elections are fair.
pazzyanne
(6,542 posts)Funny though how it was rigged in his favor!