A NY Legal Challenge to ExpressVote XL's Barcode Use
Susan Lerner reviews the legal challenge in Common Cause NY v. Kosinski against the ES&S ExpressVote XL over barcode vote encoding and voter verifiability laws.
Summary
The ExpressVote XL All-in-One Voting Terminal
The ES&S ExpressVote XL combines ballot marking and optical tabulation into a single touchscreen device, recording voter choices in 1D barcodes and 2D QR codes.
Legal Arguments in Common Cause NY v. Kosinski
Susan Lerner details the New York state court challenge arguing that tabulating votes from unreadable barcodes violates New York statutory requirements and the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) guaranteeing voter-verifiable ballots.
The Controversy of Barcode-Based Tabulation
State-level bans on barcode voting in Colorado and federal executive proposals reflect growing bipartisan consensus that voters must be able to visually verify the exact medium used for tabulation.
Potential Nationwide Impact on Voting Machine Regulation
A ruling against barcode-encoded ballots in New York sets significant legal precedents for voting equipment procurement and verification across other US jurisdictions.
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