Cyber Security Experts say Macomb County is "Ahead of the Trend" on Election Integrity

When it comes to election integrity, no good deed goes unpunished. Yesterday, I talked with cyber security experts observing an audit of the Macomb County, MI servers. On the way, I saw a handful of protestors. Some of them even followed Clerk Anthony Forlini to his fundraiser that night.

“There’s people on one side saying I’m not doing enough. Of course, this is decentralized, so I’m doing what I can on my level, and they want more. I get people from the other side saying I’m wasting my money. Why am I listening to them?” Clerk Forlini says he doesn’t have an agenda. He only wants to make sure elections are secure, and his constituents have confidence in them.

Macomb County hired Jack Cobb, who works for Pro V&V Laboratories. The company is a VSTL (Voting System Test Laboratory), accredited by the Election Assistance Commission. Forlini also invited Ben Cotton, the founder of CyFIR, and Oscar Carretero of Cadre Information Security, to oversee the process.

Ben Cotton has made the rounds, observing the famed Maricopa County audit in Arizona. Cotton realizes many have unfavorable opinions of audits, but they’re necessary. “Audits are bringing that transparency to the process. An audit ensures that people’s confidence in the system remains effective. If there are problems, then you address them and fix them, and then you move forward and address those issues.”

Forlini wasn’t serving as county clerk during the contentious 2020 election, but he’s made big changes since taking office. “I firmly believe that what Tony is doing here with this accomplishes a couple of goals, and I think he’s ahead of the trend.” Cotton went on to speak of the importance of digitally preserving records in case there is ever a dispute.

When I asked the experts their opinions on Michigan’s security, Cobb still had data to analyze before commenting on the forensics. Cotton, at this point, has no forensic proof of a breach but spoke of general room for improvement.

After attending “Stop the Steal” rallies, election integrity dinners, and many other activist meetings, I’ve seen a defeatist attitude from Republicans. They feel their votes don’t matter. All three experts denounced that misguided opinion.

Carretero was born in Argentina, and as an observer, he believes people on both sides work in “good faith.” As far as the cyber security perspective, “We’re paid to be paranoid.”

That paranoia is needed in a tech-savvy world. Cotton said the sheer quantity of votes and the time constraints of reporting have solidified our move into the digital age. Cobb believes voting by cell phone may not be too far off, and election companies are already working on software that can safeguard against traditional ballot harvesting. Before such bold changes take place, legislators will have to craft election laws geared toward the digital age. “Businesses are doing multi-billion-dollar transactions in their systems,” Carretero said. “We can certainly bring that security to the voting system.”

Clerk Forlini isn’t looking for a particular outcome regarding the audits or when he investigates claims of fraud brought to his office. Forlini claims he’s only seeking the truth. While he may have some passionate critics, the cyber security experts are impressed with the direction of Macomb County. Cotton said, “I think what we’re doing here is probably the forerunner to what every jurisdiction across the nation will be doing in ten years.”

“If not sooner,” Cobb corrected.