The Maryland State Board of Elections is focusing on election integrity after reports of an upcoming advisory that identifies risks associated with Dominion Voting Systems.
A federal cybersecurity agency confirmed there are vulnerabilities in some ballot-marking devices, including those made by Dominion, which could, in theory, allow the voting machines to be tampered with.
According to the Dominion Voting Systems’ website, its equipment is used in 28 states — including Virginia — and Puerto Rico. Both Maryland and the District of Columbia use Elections Systems and Software (ES&S) as their voting system vendor.
According to analysis from the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the vulnerabilities have never been exploited in an election.
The Associated Press reported Wednesday that the advisory is expected to be released Friday after elections officials in all 50 states have been notified.
In a statement Thursday, the Maryland Board of Elections said in a statement it is aware of the upcoming CISA advisory and will review the findings with ES&S “as part of an ongoing comprehensive program designed to safeguard the integrity of Maryland’s elections.”
The board said the ES&S voting system was certified by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission in 2015 and is used by jurisdictions nationwide.
Additionally, the board said Maryland election officials test each voting unit before each election, and both manual and automated ballot audits are performed after each election to verify accuracy.
