Thread by @jennycohn1

1. Thread. This is bad news. Contra Costa County election supervisors have decided to buy $6M dollars worth of voting equipment from Dominion Voting. contracostaherald.com/02141801cch/

2. Dominion had virtually no presence in the industry until it acquired Diebold Election Systems and Sequoia in 2010. I discuss all three companies- and their disconcerting histories and incestuous relationship with ES&S in my Medium article linked here. medium.com/@jennycohn1/up…

3. The voting system that Contra Costa County decided to buy is called the "Dominion Democracy Suite." It looks like it may contemplate using Ballot Marking Devices (which generate "computer" marked paper ballots) for all voters, not just those unable to hand mark their ballots.

4. As explained in my article linked here, using BMD's ("electric pencils") adds an extra layer of vulnerable electronics to our already vulnerable elections & should be discouraged, except for voters who are unable to hand marked their paper ballots. medium.com/@jennycohn1/ba…

5. Meanwhile, California's governor signed into law a bill that gutted California's paper ballot election audits. whowhatwhy.org/2017/10/30/new…;

6. We must demand ownership transparency from vendors like Dominion, while educating the public about the importance of robust post-election audits and of the danger of adding another unnecessary layer of vulnerable electronics (i.e., BMDs) to our already vulnerable elections.

7. Thank you to @KottiPillar for alerting me to this news from Contra Costa County, California. #ProtectOurVotes #PaperBallotsNow

8. P.S. I want to clarify something. The system that Contra Costa County just approved DOES use paper ballots. It just appears to me that they may be COMPUTER marked, rather than HAND marked. As explained earlier in this Thread, hand marked paper ballots are the gold standard.

9. Computer marked paper ballots create extra unnecessary security problems when purchased for voters who don't need them. The use of computer marked ballots for all voters is a new trend and must be nipped in the bud.

10. I also have concerns about Dominion itself and the lack of transparency about its ownership.