When the Paper Trail Leads Nowhere
Chronicles the technical failures, security vulnerabilities, and recount challenges of Los Angeles County's $300M bespoke VSAP voting system.
Summary
The Rollout of LA County's VSAP System
In the March 2020 California primary, Los Angeles County deployed its $300 million bespoke Voting Solutions for All People (VSAP) system developed by Smartmatic, experiencing severe technical failures and long lines.
Security Vulnerabilities and Closed-Source Compromises
Despite initial public commitments to open-source the voting codebase, the proprietary implementation contained numerous security vulnerabilities and operational flaws that undermined public transparency.
A Local Odyssey: The Long Beach Recount
Ian Patton recounts the firsthand experience of a grassroots government accountability organization requesting a formal hand recount of a razor-thin local ballot measure, exposing significant obstacles in auditing VSAP paper records.
Lessons for Publicly Funded Voting Technology
Evaluating the VSAP rollout demonstrates the critical importance of open-source transparency, independent security testing, and enforceable voter verification standards in public election infrastructure.
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