Election Systems & Software
Election Systems & Software, LLC (ES&S) is an American company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, that develops, manufactures, and services hardware and software for election administration, including ballot scanners, marking devices, and tabulation systems used in jurisdictions across the United States.[1][2]
Founded in 1979 as American Information Systems Inc. and later merging with Business Records Corporation, ES&S has expanded through acquisitions and innovation to become the dominant vendor in the U.S. voting equipment market, with its systems handling ballots for approximately half of American voters.[3][4]
The company's products, such as the DS200 high-speed scanner and AutoMARK ballot marking device, emphasize paper-based voting with verifiable audit trails to support post-election verification, and all systems undergo federal certification testing for accuracy and security.[5][6]
ES&S voting systems have faced scrutiny in independent assessments and hacking demonstrations revealing exploitable vulnerabilities, such as in software configurations and physical access points, leading to recommendations for enhanced safeguards like air-gapped networks and routine audits despite the company's implementation of encryption and multi-layer protections.[7][8][9]
Company Overview
Founding and Corporate Profile
Election Systems & Software, LLC (ES&S) traces its origins to August 1979, when it was established as American Information Systems, Inc. (AIS) in Omaha, Nebraska. The company was founded by brothers Bob Urosevich and Ron Urosevich, alongside several former employees of Westinghouse Election Systems, following Westinghouse's withdrawal from the voting equipment market.[10] Initially, AIS developed and supplied punch-card voting systems, such as the Votomatic, capitalizing on the need for reliable tabulation technology amid growing demands for accurate vote counting.[10] In 1997, the firm rebranded to Election Systems & Software to reflect its expanded focus on integrated software solutions alongside hardware.[11] Headquartered at 11208 John Galt Blvd. in Omaha, Nebraska, ES&S operates as a privately held limited liability company.[12] Ownership is held entirely by American entities, with the McCarthy Group and individual ES&S management members as principal stakeholders; the McCarthy Group initially partnered with the founders before assuming full control.[13] ES&S specializes in manufacturing voting systems, election management software, optical scan tabulators, ballot production, and voter registration tools, serving election administrators nationwide.[14] The company's mission emphasizes delivering trusted, proven technologies to support election integrity and efficiency.[2]Market Dominance and Economic Impact
Election Systems & Software (ES&S) maintains a dominant position in the U.S. voting equipment market, serving jurisdictions that encompass approximately 43.8% of the nation's registered voters, or over 83 million individuals, as of data compiled in 2021.[15] This translates to presence in roughly 2,360 election jurisdictions, making ES&S the largest vendor among an oligopoly where it, Dominion Voting Systems, and Hart InterCivic collectively control about 90-92% of the market.[16][15] The company's equipment is used in elections across nearly half of U.S. states, with particular strength in optical scan systems and ballot marking devices.[4] ES&S's economic footprint includes an estimated annual revenue in the range of $100-150 million, derived from equipment sales, maintenance contracts, and services within an industry generating around $300 million yearly.[17][4] Employing approximately 500-700 people primarily in Omaha, Nebraska, the firm benefits from recurring revenue streams where maintenance and support constitute about two-thirds of industry income, often locking jurisdictions into long-term dependencies due to high switching costs and proprietary systems.[4][15] Procurement examples illustrate this scale: counties routinely spend millions on ES&S upgrades, such as Fairfax County's $6.5 million contract or Johnson County's $1.5 million outlay for new hardware.[4] The company's market dominance exerts broader economic pressure on election administration, contributing to elevated costs amid limited competition and infrequent federal funding since the Help America Vote Act of 2002.[15] High barriers to entry, including certification expenses exceeding $1 million per system and lengthy federal testing, favor incumbents like ES&S, stifling innovation and resulting in taxpayer-funded expenditures that are lumpy and tied to aging infrastructure replacements every 10-20 years.[15][4] This structure has drawn criticism for enabling vendor practices such as litigation against competitors and lobbying to influence procurement, potentially inflating prices without commensurate improvements in reliability or security.[4]Historical Evolution
Early Precursors and Formation (1970s-1980s)
In the 1970s, the precursors to modern election tabulation systems emerged amid efforts to automate vote counting beyond mechanical levers and punch cards, driven by the need for faster, more accurate processing of paper ballots. Business Records Corporation (BRC), a Dallas-based subsidiary of Cronus Industries, developed the Optech optical mark-sense scanner in the mid-1970s, enabling central-count tabulation of hand-marked ballots by detecting filled ovals or bubbles.[18] This technology addressed limitations of earlier punch-card systems, which had been plagued by issues like hanging chads, though BRC's systems still required manual verification for ambiguities.[19] American Information Systems (AIS) was founded in August 1979 in Omaha, Nebraska, by Bob Urosevich, who served as its president until 1992.[20] [3] AIS specialized in central-count ballot scanners, introducing hardware and software for aggregating votes from precinct-level paper ballots at county facilities, marking an early shift toward integrated election management tools.[21] By 1982, Nebraska became one of the first states to deploy AIS scanners officially for statewide elections, demonstrating their feasibility for large-scale use despite nascent concerns over software reliability in untested environments.[22] The formation of what became Election Systems & Software (ES&S) occurred through the 1980 merger of AIS and BRC, combining AIS's scanning innovations with BRC's Optech line to create a unified provider of optical scan and tabulation services.[3] This consolidation occurred amid growing demand for computerized systems following the punch-card failures in elections like Florida's 1960s recounts, though early implementations lacked standardized federal oversight, relying on state-level testing.[23] The merged entity adopted the ES&S name in 1988, solidifying its focus on hardware-software bundles for vote capture and reporting.[3] During the 1980s, these systems expanded to over 30 states, prioritizing efficiency over direct-recording electronics, which remained experimental.[24]Expansion Through Acquisitions (1990s-2000s)
In 1997, Election Systems & Software (ES&S) was formed through the merger of American Information Systems (AIS), an Omaha-based developer of optical scan tabulation software founded in 1979, and Business Records Corporation (BRC), a Denver firm specializing in punch-card voting systems. This consolidation combined complementary technologies, enabling ES&S to provide hybrid solutions that addressed diverse state requirements for ballot tabulation and positioned the company as a leading vendor in the fragmented U.S. election equipment market. By integrating AIS's software expertise with BRC's hardware capabilities, ES&S rapidly expanded its product portfolio, including the Optech optical scanners derived from BRC's lineage, which became widely adopted for processing paper ballots.[24] The merger facilitated ES&S's growth amid rising demand for automated voting systems in the late 1990s, as jurisdictions sought to replace manual counting amid disputes like the 2000 presidential election recount. ES&S leveraged the combined entity's scale to secure contracts in over 30 states by the early 2000s, emphasizing interoperability between punch-card and optical technologies during a transitional period before federal mandates shifted preferences. This expansion through technological amalgamation, rather than greenfield development, allowed ES&S to capture significant market share without the full costs of independent R&D duplication.[25] In the mid-2000s, following the Help America Vote Act of 2002 which spurred upgrades to accessible voting systems, ES&S pursued further acquisitions to bolster its direct-recording electronic (DRE) offerings. A pivotal move occurred in 2009 when ES&S acquired Premier Election Solutions, the election systems subsidiary of Diebold Inc., encompassing DRE machines like the AccuVote TSX used in multiple states and serving approximately 1,000 jurisdictions. The deal, valued at an undisclosed sum but involving assets generating tens of millions in annual revenue, aimed to unify ES&S's portfolio under a single vendor model but triggered U.S. Department of Justice antitrust scrutiny over reduced competition in a market already concentrated among few providers. In 2010, a settlement required ES&S to divest specific Premier assets, including source code and hardware inventory, to Hart InterCivic to preserve competitive options for election officials.[26][27]Recent Ownership and Management Shifts (2010s-Present)
In 2009, Election Systems & Software (ES&S) acquired Premier Election Solutions, the voting systems division of Diebold Inc., for approximately $5 million, aiming to expand its market share in electronic voting equipment.[26] The U.S. Department of Justice challenged the deal under antitrust laws, citing concerns that it would reduce competition in the sale of direct recording electronic (DRE) voting machines, as ES&S would control over 70% of the U.S. market for such systems post-acquisition.[26] In March 2010, ES&S agreed to a settlement requiring divestiture of Premier's DRE assets, including the TSx and AccuVote-TSx machines, to Hart InterCivic Inc., while retaining optical scan and other non-DRE technologies from Premier.[26] This partial integration bolstered ES&S's portfolio in scanner-based systems but preserved some market competition in touchscreen voting hardware. Ownership of ES&S, historically private and employee-influenced, saw increased involvement from private equity during the 2010s, with McCarthy Capital (also referred to as McCarthy Group) emerging as a key stakeholder alongside company management.[13] By the mid-2010s, ES&S described itself as 100% American-owned by McCarthy Capital and individual management members, reflecting a recapitalization structure that provided growth capital without public listing.[13] This arrangement maintained operational continuity but drew scrutiny for limited transparency in private equity-backed election vendors, amid broader concerns over foreign supply chain dependencies rather than direct ownership shifts.[28] No major ownership changes have been publicly reported since, with McCarthy Capital retaining control into the 2020s. Management leadership transitioned in late 2014, when Tom Burt, then president and chief operating officer, was appointed CEO effective January 1, 2015, succeeding Aldo Tesi, who had led the company through the Premier integration and earlier expansions.[29] Burt's tenure emphasized federal certification compliance and system modernization, including enhancements to election management software amid post-2016 election security debates.[29] No subsequent CEO changes have occurred, with Burt remaining in the role as of 2025, focusing on operational reliability in high-volume U.S. elections.[1]Technological Framework
Core Hardware Components
Election Systems & Software (ES&S) employs a range of hardware components centered on optical ballot scanners and assistive marking devices to facilitate paper-based voting, emphasizing verifiable paper records over direct electronic recording. These systems integrate commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) elements with proprietary customizations to meet federal certification standards under the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG).[30] Core hardware includes precinct and central tabulators for scanning hand-marked or machine-printed ballots, alongside ballot marking devices (BMDs) for voters requiring assistance.[31] The DS200 serves as a primary precinct scanner and tabulator, designed for deployment at polling places to scan and preliminarily tabulate paper ballots using digital imaging technology. It supports both hand-marked optical ballots and those produced by BMDs, with capacity to process ballots in real-time during election day while generating auditable images for post-election verification. The device features a rugged, portable design suitable for mobile precinct use and includes features like automatic ballot rejection for errors, ensuring high throughput without compromising accuracy.[5][32] For central count operations, the DS850 high-speed scanner handles large volumes of absentee, mail-in, and provisional ballots, capable of processing up to 300 double-sided 14-inch ballots per minute. This central tabulator employs advanced digital scanning to capture ballot images at high resolution, enabling efficient aggregation of results from multiple precincts and integration with election management software for reporting. Its design prioritizes speed and reliability in post-election canvassing, with built-in safeguards against overcounting or misreads.[33][34] Assistive hardware includes the AutoMARK Voter Assist Terminal, a BMD that allows voters with disabilities to independently mark ballots via audio, tactile, or visual interfaces before printing a paper ballot for scanning. The AutoMARK uses a touchscreen with sip-and-puff or paddle mechanisms for input, producing scannable optical ballots that maintain voter privacy and verifiability. Complementing this, the ExpressVote system combines touchscreen selection with immediate paper ballot generation and on-screen verification, reducing errors in complex races through programmable logic that mirrors precinct-specific ballot layouts.[35][36] Newer iterations, such as the DS300 scanner, extend these capabilities by supporting seamless tabulation across early voting, Election Day, and central operations, incorporating enhanced imaging for diverse ballot sizes and formats. All ES&S hardware undergoes rigorous testing for durability, with components sourced through vetted supply chains to mitigate risks of tampering or failure in high-stakes environments.[37][38]Election Management Software
Electionware is the proprietary election management system (EMS) software developed by Election Systems & Software (ES&S) for preparing, administering, and reporting on elections. It provides an end-to-end platform for election officials to define election parameters, design ballots, configure voting equipment, process results, and generate reports, supporting jurisdictions handling complex elections with diverse ballot styles and precincts.[39][40] The software operates on a hardened server environment within a closed network, enabling multi-user access for simultaneous tasks such as data entry and result loading while maintaining data integrity through enforced validation protocols.[39] Key features include capacity for up to 15,000 ballot styles and nearly 10,000 precincts, multilingual support, and accommodations for early voting, absentee ballots, overseas voting, and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance requirements.[39][40] Its user interface incorporates an intuitive Navigator toolbar and workflow-based modules—such as Define for data capture, Design for ballot layout, Deliver for equipment setup, Results for tabulation and adjudication, and Reports for customized outputs—to streamline operations and reduce errors via reusable templates and real-time data import.[39] The system uses a single centralized database to ensure uniformity across processes, facilitating quick adjustments for varying jurisdictional rules and equipment types.[39] In typical workflow, election administrators begin by importing candidate and contest data, generating ballot proofs for review, and programming devices like optical scanners or ballot marking devices with encrypted election files via proprietary flash drives.[39] Post-election, results from precinct tabulators or central count systems are loaded into the EMS for adjudication of ambiguous ballots, canvassing, and aggregation into official tallies, with capabilities for election night unofficial reporting.[40] Integration with ES&S tools, such as electronic pollbooks and Ballot on Demand printers, allows seamless data flow, while audit logs and hash validations support post-election verification.[39] As of May 2024, Electionware emphasizes productivity enhancements like automated data accuracy checks to handle high-volume elections efficiently.[40]Security Protocols and Federal Certifications
ES&S voting systems employ a multi-layered security architecture to mitigate risks of tampering, unauthorized access, and data corruption. The framework consists of six core layers: physical security, which utilizes tamper-evident seals and locks on hardware to detect and deter physical interference; system hardening, restricting devices to election-specific functions on locked-down computers that reject unauthorized USB drives and limit user privileges; and secure data handling, featuring audit logs that record every user action for forensic review.[41] Additional layers include unique per-election encryption keys that ensure ballot definition files on programming media are validated before loading, preventing the use of altered USBs; cryptographic signature validation with Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS)-compliant modules to authenticate data transfers between components; and independent verification through testing by U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC)-accredited laboratories, confirming system resilience against simulated threats.[41] These protocols extend to air-gapped networks for election management servers, role-based access controls limiting functionality by user type, and procedural safeguards like chain-of-custody documentation for ballots and devices.[42] All ES&S personnel complete annual security awareness training, contributing to a reported 100% compliance rate, while systems undergo pre-certification testing requiring zero errors in processing 1.5 million ballot positions consecutively.[41] ES&S also maintains a vulnerability disclosure policy and collaborates with federal entities such as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to align practices with national election security guidelines.[41][43] Federal certifications for ES&S systems are administered by the EAC, which tests and approves hardware and software against the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG), incorporating security benchmarks for encryption, access controls, and auditability. As of July 24, 2024, the EVS 6.5.0.0 system holds EAC certification under VVSG 1.0 (2005), marking the latest in a series of approvals dating back to EVS 5.0.0.0 on May 16, 2013.[44][44] Over 20 ES&S variants, including modifications to EVS 6.0 through 6.4 series certified between 2018 and 2023, comply with these guidelines, which mandate protections against unauthorized modifications and ensure verifiable results.[44] VVSG 1.0 emphasizes principles like software independence—allowing outcomes to be verified against paper records—and cryptographic integrity, tested via source code reviews and penetration attempts by independent labs.[45] While VVSG 2.0, adopted by the EAC on February 10, 2021, introduces enhanced security principles such as risk-limiting audits and open-source components, ES&S fielded systems remain certified to VVSG 1.0, with ongoing development for VVSG 2.1 compatibility expected by 2025; EAC policy permits security patches and minor upgrades to VVSG 1.0 systems without full recertification.[46][47] State-level approvals build on federal certifications, often incorporating additional logic and accuracy testing.[44]Deployment and Operational Use
Adoption in U.S. Jurisdictions
Election Systems & Software (ES&S) voting systems are deployed in approximately 1,531 counties across the United States, encompassing a broad range of hardware including ballot scanners like the DS200 and DS850, and ballot marking devices such as the ExpressVote and AutoMARK.[48] These deployments support both precinct and central-count operations, often integrated with paper ballots for post-election auditing, aligning with federal recommendations following the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and subsequent security guidelines.[44] ES&S equipment processes ballots in jurisdictions representing tens of millions of registered voters, with the company's ExpressVote units alone installed in over 1,400 locations by late 2019, facilitating verifiable paper records in high-volume settings.[49] In states with decentralized election administration, such as Texas, ES&S dominates adoption, with the majority of the state's 254 counties utilizing its EVS software, DS200 scanners, and ExpressVote ballot markers as of February 2025.[50] Similarly, in Pennsylvania, multiple counties employ ES&S systems for optical scanning and voter-assisted marking, contributing to the processing of millions of ballots in the 2020 general election.[51] California counties including Merced and Modoc rely on ES&S EVS 6.0.4.2 for tabulation, while North Carolina counties continue certification and use of ES&S 5.0 and 6.0 versions post-2023 reviews.[52][53] This widespread county-level uptake reflects ES&S's compatibility with state-specific certification processes, though adoption decisions remain local, influenced by factors like cost, existing infrastructure, and compliance with auditable paper trails.[54] Recent trends show increased integration of ES&S's paper-based technologies amid post-2020 emphases on risk-limiting audits and voter-verifiable records, with systems like the ExpressVote XL deployed for touchscreen-assisted ballot marking that produces scannable paper outputs.[16] In Nevada, ES&S EVS 6.5.0.0 supports Election Day ExpressVote BMDs and absentee scanning, as certified for statewide use.[55] Deployments in jurisdictions like Wake County, North Carolina, and Marion County, Indiana, demonstrate scalability for urban areas, where high-speed scanners handle provisional and mail-in ballots efficiently during peak election periods.[56] Overall, ES&S maintains a leading position among the three primary vendors—alongside Dominion and Hart InterCivic—collectively serving about 90% of the U.S. voting technology market, though exact voter coverage varies by election cycle and jurisdiction upgrades.[16]International Implementations
Election Systems & Software (ES&S) voting technologies have achieved limited deployment outside the United States, contrasting with their extensive use in over 40 U.S. states serving approximately 80 million registered voters as of 2016. The company's international efforts have primarily involved pilot programs and municipal contracts in Canada, where regulatory environments and preferences for paper-based or hybrid systems have constrained broader adoption. No verified implementations in European, Latin American, or other sovereign nations beyond these Canadian cases were identified in public records or official disclosures. In Markham, Ontario, ES&S supplied an internet voting system for municipal elections, marking the first major Canadian municipality to trial such technology. The system was deployed for advance polls in the 2003 election at a cost of $25,000, enabling remote voting via secure online portals integrated with ES&S software. Subsequent uses occurred in 2006 and 2010, with evaluations including voter surveys showing satisfaction rates above 90% and post-election audits confirming result accuracy through risk-limiting techniques.[57] Markham negotiated a discounted rate from ES&S to facilitate these trials, highlighting the vendor's willingness to adapt U.S.-developed platforms for Canadian contexts, though scalability concerns and security debates limited expansion.[58] Beyond internet voting, Markham awarded ES&S a contract in 2018 for optical scan vote tabulation services, including hardware and support for processing paper ballots in municipal elections. This involved ES&S's central count scanners and election management software, certified for accuracy in high-volume tabulation, with the sole-bidder status underscoring limited competition from other vendors in the region. These deployments demonstrate ES&S's capability for hybrid electronic-paper systems but have not led to province-wide or national adoption in Canada, where Elections Canada prioritizes verifiable paper trails over fully electronic solutions.[57] ES&S's international footprint remains modest, influenced by stringent foreign certification requirements, geopolitical sensitivities around U.S. vendors, and preferences for domestically developed systems in countries like those in the European Union. For instance, while ES&S has explored bids in U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico, no confirmed operational use outside North America was documented, reflecting a strategic focus on domestic markets amid ongoing U.S. election security scrutiny.[59]Integration with Paper-Based Auditing
Election Systems & Software (ES&S) voting systems facilitate integration with paper-based auditing by generating voter-verified paper records that serve as the official vote of record, enabling manual recounts, fixed-percentage audits, and statistical methods such as risk-limiting audits (RLAs).[60] These systems, including ballot marking devices (BMDs) like the ExpressVote XL and AutoMARK, produce optically scannable paper ballots marked either by voters or assistively, which voters can inspect and verify before tabulation.[61] The paper ballots are then processed through precinct or central optical scanners, such as the DS200 or DS850, which tabulate votes while preserving the physical ballots for post-election verification.[33] In auditing processes, ES&S configurations support comparisons between the paper ballots and the electronic cast vote records (CVRs) produced by the election management software (EMS), such as Electionware.[62] For fixed-percentage audits, officials randomly select precincts or machines and manually count the corresponding paper ballots against the machine-tabulated results to confirm accuracy.[62] This integration aligns with federal guidelines under the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) 2.0, which emphasize auditable paper trails for enhancing election integrity.[63] ES&S systems are compatible with RLAs, which use statistical sampling of paper ballots to assess the likelihood of incorrect outcomes with a predefined risk limit, typically 5-10%.[64] A U.S. patent held by ES&S (No. 11,276,262, issued March 22, 2022) describes methods for processing provisional ballots and conducting RLAs within their voting systems, allowing jurisdictions to retrieve and interpret paper records efficiently during audits.[64] States like Georgia, which adopted ES&S equipment post-2020, have implemented RLAs using these paper-based components to verify electronic tallies, demonstrating practical deployment as of the November 2020 general election.[31] Older direct-recording electronic (DRE) systems like the iVotronic could optionally include voter-verified paper audit trails (VVPATs) via thermal printers, but ES&S has shifted toward hybrid paper-first models to address audit limitations in fully electronic setups without durable paper records.[3] This evolution ensures that audit processes remain grounded in tangible evidence, mitigating risks of undetectable discrepancies in electronic-only tabulation.[41]Performance Assessments
Documented Reliability in High-Volume Elections
Election Systems & Software (ES&S) voting systems, including the DS200 precinct scanners and DS850 central tabulators, have processed ballots in numerous high-turnout U.S. elections, with federal and state validations confirming operational reliability. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) certifies ES&S's Electionware Voting System (EVS) suites after rigorous testing, including volume tests simulating millions of ballots to ensure tabulation accuracy above 99.95% under VVSG standards.[65] These certifications apply to systems deployed in large jurisdictions, where ES&S equipment handles central counting for statewide races.[54] In the 2020 general election, ES&S systems tabulated votes amid record turnout exceeding 159 million nationwide, with deployment in states like Texas and Pennsylvania. Texas's Secretary of State conducted a comprehensive procedural and forensic audit of the election, reviewing ES&S-supported counties and affirming no irregularities in vote capture or tabulation processes that would undermine results.[66] State examinations of ES&S EVS 6.1.1.0 prior to deployment verified hardware and software performance without defects affecting high-volume accuracy.[67] Post-election audits in ES&S-using jurisdictions further document reliability. In Wisconsin's 2024 audit, officials hand-counted over 327,000 ballots from ES&S-tabulated precincts, confirming machine results with discrepancies below statistical margins for equipment error.[68] Logic and accuracy (L&A) tests, standard before elections, validate ES&S scanners like the DS200 against test decks representing high-volume scenarios, ensuring precise mark recognition and rejection of invalid ballots.[69] Pennsylvania's certification of ES&S EVS 6.0.3.0 for statewide use included evaluations of tabulation integrity in dense urban counties.[70] While certifications and audits provide empirical backing, field reliability in high-volume contexts relies on paper trails for risk-limiting audits (RLAs), which ES&S systems support via ballot images and cast vote records. Deployments in elections with over 10 million voters, such as Texas's 2020 contest, showed no systemic failures in official reviews, though isolated overvote issues in some optical scan setups highlight design sensitivities rather than core tabulation errors.[71] Overall, documented performance aligns with EAC-tested thresholds, with error rates from misreads or jams under 0.1% in audited large-scale events.[72]