Alfeia Goodwin, the Republican candidate vying to represent Delaware County in Congress, filed a lawsuit against the county over voting machine issues, asking the court for an injunction regarding voting machine software.
“We’re asking for a response along with an investigation, the people of Delaware County, Pa. and America have a right to know the truth, or if something is hidden in plain sight. Voter involvement should be encouraged. We’re voting as if our lives depended upon it, because it does,” Goodwin told DVJournal.
Goodwin is challenging three-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D) in Pennsylvania’s 5th Congressional District.
The 18 Hart Verity voting machines in question should be quarantined and the FBI should be called in to investigate who installed the rogue software, the lawsuit says. Also, the county’s other 838 machines should be tested to see if they have the same issues.
Goodwin’s co-plaintiff, Robert Mancini, a computer cyber-security expert, said MathNET Numerics Dll, a program not authorized by state or federal elections officials, was found on the machines. He warned the County Council about the MathNET program at its April 17 meeting before the primary. The county took no action to remove it, he said.
The county voting machines have “software designed to manipulate data,” Mancini said.
“MathNet.Numerics is not authorized for use in elections by the EAC on the Hart Verity Version 2.7,” the lawsuit said. “Since the Pennsylvania Department of State has adopted the EAC standards for certification of voting machine systems used throughout the Commonwealth, it is a violation of the law for any jurisdiction in Pennsylvania to use voting machines on which unauthorized software has been installed.
“Software not authorized by the EAC, installed on Delaware County’s voting machines, invalidates the certification of those machines granted by the Pennsylvania Department of State,” the suit said.
“Delaware County is in violation of EAC authorization standards and of the Pennsylvania Department of State certification, and is therefore cannot legally run an election using the Hart Verity 2.7 software, that is not identical to the software the Pennsylvania Department of State has certified.
It is illegal for Delaware County to proceed with the use of the Hart Verity 2.7 voting system in the November 5, 2024 general election,” the suit claims.
But in an April email to Mancini, Delaware County Director of Elections James Allen said, “You are yet again mischaracterizing and misrepresenting the trusted build validation and confusing it with an actual trusted build. Delaware County has performed the validation on every machine ahead of every election and after every election by examining the tapes that validate that the equipment is running on Hart Verity 2.7.
“Through it all, the testing and validations verified that the proper programs are running on the Hart voting equipment that is being used by Delaware County’s voters and poll workers,” Allen wrote to Mancini.
Mancini is also a plaintiff with other county residents in a petition against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland that the U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Oct. 17 to add to its docket. That suit, with Gregory Stensrtom of Glen Mills as lead plaintiff, accuses the Department of Justice of failing to investigate election fraud.
“Delaware County got an A+ score on an extra credit exam of its equipment, and critics are trying to turn that into a bad thing,” Allen said in a statement to DVJournal. “Every test, audit, and recount—whether by machine or by hand—has confirmed the integrity of our systems and our elections. Yet some people are weaponizing misinformation, and that’s what this is, just another baseless lawsuit that will cost the taxpayers money to defend.”
Allen also said the MathNet Numerics software is approved by the state and federal government and testing shows the system is working correctly.
“Delaware County tests and checks its election systems, both before and after each election, including random audits. We will continue following all necessary protocols to guarantee accurate, secure, and fair elections. We encourage voters to participate confidently in the upcoming election, knowing that their votes will be counted accurately and transparently.”
A hearing before Judge John J. Whelan is set for Oct. 25.
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