Response from Pima County Recorder candidate Kim Challender regarding paper ballots and paper backups for e-pollbooks:
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Thank you for your advocacy and expertise on election security. I’ve been researching voting systems and electronic options for many years. I agree that electronic ballots are not safe or secure and have insufficient audit capabilities. As Recorder, I will not support electronic ballots and will fight for paper ballots if the Department of Elections attempted to institute them.
I was on a Zoom call this last week with Election’s Officials from PA, MI, and WI. What I see in many other states are systems that are unable to adapt to change and mistakes are occurring due to their lack of planning, experience, and inability to embrace some new technologies. I believe this is just as much of a threat to our election system as the cybersecurity threat. Arizona has moved technology forward but at a slow and managed pace. I will always be vigilant when it comes to cybersecurity measures like; keeping equipment up to date, pushing out patches, working with SOS, DHS, Pima County, and local agencies, continually running penetration exercises, ongoing employee training, and accountability metrics in place for all staff. Embracing technology needs to be well throughout, process-driven, and executed with backup plans.
At the Recorder’s Office, I received the daily classified briefing from DHS on cybersecurity threats and am well aware of the threats within our country and abroad. I also attended all the SOS meetings and tabletop events. As you know, they are real and can not be ignored. I do believe that E-Pollbooks would solve a lot of issues with provisional ballots and will cut down on any Election Day issues while offering more voters the opportunity to cast a ballot. I also believe that E-Pollbooks can be a safe and viable option for Election Day voting. We already use an electronic access system for our early voting locations. That being said, there will always, always, always be a backup paper system.
My background is in process improvement and troubleshooting issues. It’s what I did in the corporate world. I’m trained in 6-sigma and Kaizen process strategies. Any E-book rollouts would be planned and executed in a smart, methodical manner, again, with paper backup. No hiccups like Maricopa saw in 2018 or GA or what we are going to see on the East Coast in November.
I hope I answered your questions.
Have a great day,
Kim
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