Special to Iredell Free News

Members of the N.C. House Freedom Caucus have determined that voting machines used in the vast majority of North Carolina counties are extremely secure and cannot be hacked electronically.

Members of the Freedom Caucus met with employees of Omaha-based Elections Systems & Software earlier this week. In the 2020 elections, 94 out of 100 counties across the state used ES&S systems to conduct voting.

The Freedom Caucus learned that ES&S uses a series of three machines, with most counties using the DS200 model, to count ballots. The machines do not host modems that are hackable, nor is any of the software programmed to recognize any foreign hardware or physical tampering. The machines themselves have been built to be extremely secure, the Freedom Caucus determined.

On Wednesday, the Freedom Caucus met to discuss its findings in front of Brian Neesby, Information Officer, and Patrick Gannon, Legal Counsel, with the N.C. State Board of Elections.

The Freedom Caucus disclosed to these NCSBE representatives that a subpoena will be ordered with the intention to visit a local precinct, selected at random, to investigate whether or not specific machines are being tampered with.

The Freedom Caucus has cleared ES&S of any liabilities and will continue investigating the NCSBE to identify potential compromises in the security of the state’s elections systems.

“I am confident the issue is not with the machines,” said Rep. Keith Kidwell. “The state is doing it’s job and the equipment is secure. The issue overall is with our Board of Election’s transparency.”