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We, the People of Texas, Urgently Petition the Texas House Elections Committee to Convene a Hearing on Representative Hopper’s HB 4728, Mandating Hand-Marked Paper Ballots and Terminating the destabilizing Countywide Electronic Polling Place Program We, the undersigned citizens of Texas, solemnly call upon the Texas House Elections Committee to promptly schedule and conduct a hearing on House Bill 4728, introduced by Representative Hopper. This critical legislation mandates the use of hand-marked paper ballots and seeks to abolish the Countywide Electronic Polling Place Program (CWPPP), a system that jeopardizes the integrity of our elections and threatens the foundational principles of our Republic. The CWPPP’s reliance on electronic voting systems has repeatedly demonstrated vulnerabilities that undermine voter confidence, enable undetectable fraud, and violate the constitutional mandate for secure and transparent elections. HB 4728 offers a necessary remedy to restore trust and safeguard our democratic process. Bill Details: https://legiscan.com/TX/bill/HB4728/2025Letter to Committee: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:US:04fbf29c-801a-4038-b5e4-657605c4b088 We implore the Committee to act with urgency to address these pressing concerns, ensuring that the voices of Texas voters are heard and protected through a voting system that prioritizes security, transparency, and accountability.
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LETTER TO COMMITTEE
Subject: Urgent Request for Immediate Hearing on HB 4728 – CWPPP Causes Systemic Violations and Undetectable Fraud Dear Members of the House Elections Committee, We respectfully request that House Bill 4728, authored by Representative Hopper, be immediately placed on the calendar and scheduled for a hearing. This legislation, which eliminates electronic poll lists and the Countywide Polling Place Program (CWPPP) while mandating hand-marked paper ballots, constitutes the most critical bill of the 89th Legislative Session. The CWPPP, as implemented in Williamson County, and 99 other Texas Counties, has precipitated a series of legal, technical, and operational failures, contravening at least seven of the ten mandatory voting system standards under Texas Election Code Section 122.001(a)(1-10), compromising ballot secrecy, enabling undetectable fraud in violation of Article VI, Section 4 of the Texas Constitution, and resulting in voter suppression. Absent prompt legislative intervention, these systemic violations will irreparably undermine the integrity of the 2026 election cycle and further erode public confidence in Texas elections. The CWPPP, authorized under Texas Election Code Section 43.007, permits voters to cast ballots at any polling location within a county, relying on networked electronic voting systems (EVS), including e-pollbooks and ballot-marking devices (BMDs) such as the ExpressVote. This program is the proximate cause of Williamson County’s documented failures, directly resulting in violations of Section 122.001(a) as follows: Preservation of Ballot Secrecy (§ 122.001(a)(1)): The CWPPP’s reliance on e-pollbooks assigns unique identifiers, enabling voters such as Laura Pressley to map over 70,000 March 2024 primary votes to individual identities, thereby breaching the constitutional guarantee of a secret ballot (Tex. Const. Art. VI, § 4; Pressley Declaration, May 13, 2024). Suitability for Intended Purpose (§ 122.001(a)(2)): The CWPPP’s dependence on e-pollbooks and BMDs led to incorrect ballot styles from at least November 2020-present day (see Aleshire Petition, March 11, 2023). In 2024, ExpressVote machines misprinted barcodes, printed only half the races (often omitting the top half), excluded candidates until ballots were re-inserted, and had one-third of machines shut down during early voting (Affidavit, January 23, 2025). Safe, Efficient, and Accurate Operation (§ 122.001(a)(3)): In the 2022 primaries, CWPPP-enabled systems logged a 13% error rate for Republican ballots (1,163 incidents, including 95 ballot jams) and a 10% error rate for Democratic ballots (286 incidents, including 23 black screens) (Williamson EA Davis Letter, March 2022). In the 2024 General Election, 1,163 incidents included 85 ballot jams and 39 touchpad issues (Incident Report, March 5, 2024). In 2020, Tenex e-pollbooks issued wrong ballots due to a print-queue error (Freedom to Tinker, February 16, 2023). The 2024 affidavit further reports ExpressVote issues: tiny font sizes (deemed incorrect for 19-inch ballots by a printing expert), ink spots, and difficulty selecting candidates, requiring multiple attempts (Terry Sol Affidavit, January 23, 2025). On December 23, 2024, the Texas Secretary of State decertified the ES&S ExpressPoll 7.2.6.3 system, impactong 60 counties, after it became unresponsive, issued incorrect ballot styles, and failed to save check-in data during the November 2024 election, further evidencing the CWPPP’s operational failures (Adkins Letter, December 23, 2024). Protection from Fraudulent Manipulation (§ 122.001(a)(4)): CWPPP-integrated ES&S EVS 6.1.1.0 systems featured a hash-code checker that falsely validated software, exposing vulnerabilities (Mechler Report, Freedom to Tinker, March 5, 2021). Appel et al. (2020) confirm that BMDs are inherently vulnerable to hacking, with no mechanism to detect or correct such fraud, violating Article VI, Section 4’s mandate to “detect and punish fraud” (Appel et al., 2020, p. 8). Prevention of Unauthorized Voting (§ 122.001(a)(6)): The CWPPP’s allows unknownable number of voters to cast ballots in unauthorized races while denying lawful votes (Freedom to Tinker, February 16, 2023). In 2024, ExpressVote machines randomly omitted candidates, creating undervotes (Affidavit, January 23, 2025). The ExpressPoll 7.2.6.3 system issued incorrect ballot styles in November 2024, further enabling unauthorized voting (Adkins Letter, December 23, 2024). Prevention of Over-Counting (§ 122.001(a)(8)): CWPPP-related discrepancies in 2024 primaries showed ballots exceeding voters, as observed by Pressley (Pressley Declaration, May 13, 2024). Auditability (§ 122.001(a)(10)): The CWPPP’s lack of ballot-style logs, as highlighted by Bill Aleshire,an attorney in Texas, combined with hash-code flaws and BMD errors (e.g., sealed spoiled ballots inaccessible to poll watchers in 2024), renders records unauditable (Aleshire Petition, March 11, 2023; Affidavit, January 23, 2025). Appel et al. (2020) argue that BMDs are neither contestable nor defensible, as audits cannot confirm voter intent, further undermining auditability (Appel et al., 2020, p. 3). The ExpressPoll 7.2.6.3 system failed to produce required audit logs in 2024, exacerbating this issue (Adkins Letter, December 23, 2024). The CWPPP’s reliance on BMDs and e-pollbooks not only violates statutory standards but also contravenes Article VI, Section 4 of the Texas Constitution, which requires elections to be conducted “by ballot” with regulations to “detect and punish fraud.” Appel et al. (2020) demonstrate that BMDs lack contestability and defensibility, meaning fraud—whether through hacking, bugs, or misconfiguration—is undetectable and uncorrectable, as voters cannot prove discrepancies and officials cannot act on them (Appel et al., 2020, p. 3). The ExpressPoll 7.2.6.3 system’s failure to sync data, issue correct ballots, or maintain audit logs in November 2024 further illustrates this systemic flaw, leading to its decertification (Adkins Letter, December 23, 2024). In Williamson County, this has fueled a ballot secrecy crisis and voter suppression. Public records (e.g., 2024-1800-PIA) reveal voters like Robert Bagwell tracing their votes, prompting Madelon Highsmith to abandon voting (Bagwell Declaration, May 11, 2024; Highsmith Declaration, May 10, 2024). The Williamson County Attorney’s Office acknowledges the secrecy risk but defends the CWPPP framework (Wodraska Letter, February 21, 2025). The 2024 affidavit details ExpressVote failures—inaccessible magnifiers, voter inconvenience from machine shutdowns, and lack of transparency (judges barred from revealing spoiled ballot counts post-October 21, 2024)—exacerbating distrust (Affidavit, January 23, 2025). HB 4728 provides a comprehensive remedy: Section 63.0016 prohibits electronic voter check-ins, eliminating glitch-prone e-pollbooks like the ExpressPoll 7.2.6.3 system. Repeal of Section 43.007 dismantles the CWPPP, restoring precinct-based voting for accuracy, transparency, and fraud detection as mandated by Article VI, Section 4. Section 123.010 mandates hand-marked paper ballots, ensuring compliance with Section 122.001(a) through a secure, auditable, and secret voting process. Effective September 1, 2025, HB 4728 represents Texas’s final opportunity to rectify these violations before the 2026 elections. The CWPPP’s legacy in Williamson County—statutory noncompliance, undetectable fraud, and voter disenfranchisement—demands its abolition. We respectfully urge you to schedule an immediate hearing on HB 4728 to safeguard safeguard Texas voters’ rights and restore electoral integrity. Failure to act risks entrenching these systemic failures statewide. I remain available to provide further legal or factual support upon request. Respectfully submitted, Mrs. Lori Gallagher Director of Tally Texas, UA State Lead Educator for Cause of America Member Williamson County Republican Party Election Integrity Committee Registered voter in Williamson County, Texas Recipient List: Patrick Featherston patrick.featherston@house.texas.gov (mailto:patrick.featherston@house.texas.gov) Joshua Garrett joshua.garrett@house.texas.gov (mailto:joshua.garrett@house.texas.gov) Terry Franks terry.franks@house.texas.gov (mailto:terry.franks@house.texas.gov) Molly Wilson molly.wilson@house.texas.gov (mailto:molly.wilson@house.texas.gov) Daniel Akeroyd daniel.akeroyd@house.texas.gov (mailto:daniel.akeroyd@house.texas.gov) Kimberlee Ralph kimberlee.ralph@house.texas.gov (mailto:kimberlee.ralph@house.texas.gov) Matt Shaheen matt.shaheen@house.texas.gov (mailto:matt.shaheen@house.texas.gov) Carrie Isaac carrie.isaac@house.texas.gov (mailto:carrie.isaac@house.texas.gov) Richard Raymond richard.raymond@house.texas.gov (mailto:richard.raymond@house.texas.gov) Valoree Swanson valoree.swanson@house.texas.gov (mailto:valoree.swanson@house.texas.gov) Steve Toth steve.toth@house.texas.gov (mailto:steve.toth@house.texas.gov) Terry Wilson terry.wilson@house.texas.gov (mailto:terry.wilson@house.texas.gov) References available: Texas Election Code § 122.001(a)(1-10) (Voting System Standards). Texas Election Code § 43.007 (Countywide Polling Place Program). Texas Constitution, Article VI, Section 4 (Elections by Ballot; Fraud Detection). Appel, Andrew, Unrecoverable Election Screwup in Williamson County TX, Freedom to Tinker (February 16, 2023). Appel, Andrew & Greenhalgh, Susan, Voting Machine Hashcode Testing: Unsurprisingly insecure, and surprisingly insecure, Freedom to Tinker (March 5, 2021). Appel, Andrew W., DeMillo, Richard A., & Stark, Philip B., Ballot-Marking Devices (BMDs) Cannot Assure the Will of the Voters, Election Law Journal (February 14, 2020). Aleshire, Bill, Petition for Adoption of Rules to Document Ballot Style Provided to a Voter (March 11, 2023). Seippel, Julie, Email to Samantha Lundeen re: Dime Box Trl (October 17, 2020). Pressley, Laura, Declaration #2, Case 1:24-cv-00318-DII, Doc. 32-54 (May 13, 2024). Bagwell, Robert, Declaration, Case 1:24-cv-00318-DII, Doc. 32-59 (May 11, 2024). Highsmith, Madelon, Declaration, Case 1:24-cv-00318-DII, Doc. 32-62 (May 10, 2024). Wodraska, Amber, Letter to Open Records Division re: 2024-1918-PIA (February 21, 2025). Texas Government Code § 552.101 (Confidential Information Exception). Davis, Chris, Letter to Unspecified Recipient re: 2022 Primary Election Error Rates (undated, 2022). Williamson County Elections Department, Incident Report for 2024 General Election (March 5, 2024). Affidavit re: ExpressVote Ballot Marking Device Issues, Williamson County (January 23, 2025). Adkins, Christina Worrell, Letter to TJ Burns re: Decertification of ES&S ExpressPoll 7.2.6.3 System (December 23, 2024) Decertification Letter: The Texas Secretary of State’s letter (Adkins, December 23, 2024) details the ExpressPoll 7.2.6.3 system’s failures in November 2024, including unresponsiveness, incorrect ballot styles, and failure to save check-in data or produce audit logs. These are tied to violations of § 122.001(a)(3) (efficiency/accuracy), § 122.001(a)(6) (unauthorized voting), and § 122.001(a)(10) (auditability), reinforcing the CWPPP’s systemic flaws. Article Integration: The Appel et al. (2020) article highlights that BMDs are neither contestable nor defensible, meaning fraud is undetectable and uncorrectable, violating Article VI, Section 4’s mandate to “detect and punish fraud” (§ 122.001(a)(4), § 122.001(a)(10)). Constitutional Violation: The letter emphasizes that the CWPPP’s reliance on BMDs and e-pollbooks contravenes Article VI, Section 4, as fraud cannot be detected, undermining the constitutional framework for elections.
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