According to an exclusive AP story , states are making legitimate efforts to update their voting systems to create ballots, program voting machines, tally votes and report counts. However, they still rely on the outdated Windows 7 which will reach its “end of life” on January 14, 2020. After that, Microsoft will no longer provide technical support and “patches” to fix software vulnerabilities,” although they have said they will provide Windows 7 security updates for a fee through 2023.This bodes poorly for the future of our free elections. When the AP surveyed all 50 states, the District of Columbia and territories, they found multiple battleground states affected by the end of Windows 7 support, including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Arizona and North Carolina and Michigan and Georgia. The use of election systems that still run on Windows 7 “is of concern, and it should be of concern,” said U.S. Election Assistance Commission Chair Christy McCormick. EAC develops election system guidelines.
Congress must pass legislation giving the federal government the authority to mandate basic cybersecurity for election infrastructure,” said Oregon’s Senator Ron Wyden.