Letter from Robin Carnahan about voting equipment security

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Thank you for your email regarding voting equipment security. As Missouri's Secretary of State, it is my top priority to safeguard the integrity of Missouri elections and increase the confidence of Missouri voters. Prior to my election, the Secretary of State’s Office, in conjunction with local election authorities around the state, developed the state implementation plan for the Federal Help America Vote Act. The terms of that plan specifically delegated to local election authorities the responsibility for choosing and purchasing election equipment for their jurisdictions.

While local election authorities are ultimately responsible for choosing election equipment, any voting system to be used in the state also must be qualified by the Secretary of State's office according to criteria specified in state law. As part of this qualification process, the state has required that, among other things, any voting system used in Missouri must:

1) Provide a voter verifiable paper audit trail; and

2) Have its computer "source code" reviewed and archived by a federal independent testing authority and reviewed by the state’s Automated Voting Equipment Qualification Committee. This Committee includes independent computer software and hardware experts, as well as local election authorities, and advocates for individuals with disabilities.

My staff and I take the security of Missouri elections very seriously. I hope you find this information helpful and that it addresses your concerns. I thank you for your commitment to the security and integrity of Missouri's elections.


Very truly yours,


Robin Carnahan

Secretary of State