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id="docs-internal-guid-9e68ef25-7fff-bc5a-20a5-d9a8db317a88"><br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;text-align: center;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:3pt;"><span
style="font-size:26pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">"AuditEngine" Maryland Pilot Report Event </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;text-align: center;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:3pt;"><span
style="font-size:20pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Discusses Audits of Rockville City and Somerset County Maryland</span><span
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</span><span
style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Virtual Event: Dec 13, 3:30pm ET</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;text-align: center;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:16pt;"><span
style="font-size:15pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#666666;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">"Our goal: audit all elections, contests, and ballots"</span></p>
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style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">MEDIA ADVISORY</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">WHAT:</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"> </span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"><span
class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span></span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"> A virtual meeting to report on the results of the pilot audit.</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">
</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">WHEN: </span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"><span
class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span></span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Dec 13th, 3:30pm ET (12:30pm PT)</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">
</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">WHERE:</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"> </span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"><span
class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span></span><a
href="https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5747302646"
style="text-decoration:none;" moz-do-not-send="true"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#1155cc;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;-webkit-text-decoration-skip:none;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5747302646</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">
</span></a><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">AGENDA: </span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"><span
class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span></span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Review the Pilot Project report and answer any questions </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">WHO:</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"> </span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"><span
class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span></span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"> Officials from Maryland Board of Elections, Rockville City officials, Montgomery County officials, other election officials, candidates and campaigns, members of the press, and election experts and analysts. The report will be shared with participants.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Rockville City, MD, Dec 8, 2023</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"> - Citizens Oversight, a Delaware-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, announces today that an event has been scheduled to review the results of the "Pilot Audit" of live election data in the recent November 2023 Rockville City election. This pilot showcases the effectiveness of the cloud-based AuditEngine platform for auditing elections using ballot images and other election data. </span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">There were </span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">no significant inconsistencies</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"> but there were 15 interesting disagreements in the evaluation of voter intent in Rockville City out of about 12,000 ballots and across all contests. </span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">
</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">
</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">The Nov. 2022 election in Somerset County, MD was also included in the pilot audit project.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">What is AuditEngine?</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">
</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Citizens Oversight, guided by Executive Director and Computer Architect Ray Lutz, has developed a cloud-based ballot-image auditing platform known as </span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">AuditEngine</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">. It leverages the power of thousands of parallel computers to rapidly process all the ballot images created by election systems and compare the independent tabulation with voting system results, allowing for a detailed ballot-by-ballot comparison of all contests on the ballot. </span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Unlike other auditing solutions, AuditEngine also audits all ballots without using any barcodes. It compares the voter-verifiable text on ballot summary cards created by Ballot Marking Devices (BMDs). This allows AuditEngine to effectively check the voter-verifiable text and "skip over" the unverifiable barcodes. These barcodes have been a problem in recent elections, such as in Northampton County, PA</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"> where the barcodes differed from the voter-verifiable text. [Footnote 5]</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Key Facts:</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Citizens Oversight, Inc. is a Delaware 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with primary offices in San Diego. They have developed the AuditEngine ballot-image auditing application starting in 2019 based on design ideas from around 2006.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">The goal of the pilot audit</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"> is to provide a report for the Maryland State Board of Elections to assess whether AuditEngine qualifies for a state-wide contract to audit all elections in the state or as needed. More importantly, the results of this pilot can be used by other states and counties to evaluate the usefulness of this tabulation audit process.</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">
</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">
</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Cooperative Workflow Introduced</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">AuditEngine was significantly enhanced to improve turn-around time when working with a cooperating election district. There are three phases:</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">
</span></p>
<ul
style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-inline-start:48px;">
<li dir="ltr"
style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;"
aria-level="1"><p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"
role="presentation"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Phase 1: Prior to election day:</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"> Configure AuditEngine by using election data available prior to the election.</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">
</span></p></li>
<li dir="ltr"
style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;"
aria-level="1"><p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"
role="presentation"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Phase 2: After election day,</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"> ballot images are supplied and an independent result is provided within ~24 hours.</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">
</span></p></li>
<li dir="ltr"
style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;"
aria-level="1"><p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"
role="presentation"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Phase 3: the Cast Vote Records</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"> from the voting system are compared, ballot-by-ballot with the independent tabulation by AuditEngine, resulting in extensive reports and assurance that the reported results are consistent with the ballot images.</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">
</span></p></li>
</ul>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">When using this workflow, audit results can be provided to the election staff prior to certification to ensure accurate election results.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Ray Lutz, Executive Director of Citizens Oversight and Architect of the AuditEngine system, expressed enthusiasm about results of the pilot and the collaboration with Maryland, stating, "We are happy to be able to work with officials in the state of Maryland and particularly in Rockville City, to test both our software platform as well as the logistics of cooperation, and the results were excellent."</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">AuditEngine operates securely in a Virginia datacenter, authorized to utilize up to 10,000 virtual machines in parallel to efficiently review all ballots by inspecting the images created by ballot scanners during the initial scan.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">AuditEngine does not directly communicate with the isolated "air-gapped" computers in election offices and cannot modify official election data. AuditEngine provides detailed reports pointing out any discrepancies, and it can also provide transparency to voters who wish to review the details of the audit.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Lutz added, "We've discovered fascinating issues in almost all audits we have performed, usually regarding quirks in the election system, and we continue to be impressed by the overall quality of work done by election offices even though sometimes there is a need to work around voting system limitations. It is an honor to work with the State of Maryland in this pilot project.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">"Our solution is not only competitively priced but also has higher performance as it audits all ballots without using barcodes, while our competition does not. </span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">"We regard Maryland as the absolute leader in providing clean data suitable for nearly fully automated audits ballot images to build confidence in the outcome."</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">For media inquiries and further information, please contact:</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Media Contact: Ray Lutz, Executive Director</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">email: <a
class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="mailto:support@citizensoversight.org"
moz-do-not-send="true">support@citizensoversight.org</a></span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">619-440-3646</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">About Citizens' Oversight:</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Citizens' Oversight is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to enhancing the integrity and transparency of the electoral process through innovative auditing solutions.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">References:</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">
</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">1. "</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Case Study Report: 2020 Election Ballot Image Audits in Collier County, Volusia County, and St. Lucie County Florida</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">" -- </span><a
href="https://copswiki.org/Common/M1970"
style="text-decoration:none;" moz-do-not-send="true"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#1155cc;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;-webkit-text-decoration-skip:none;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">https://copswiki.org/Common/M1970</span></a><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"> </span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">
</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">2. "</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Dual Tabulation Issue in ES&S Voting Equipment</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">" -- </span><a
href="https://copswiki.org/Common/M1989/"
style="text-decoration:none;" moz-do-not-send="true"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#1155cc;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;-webkit-text-decoration-skip:none;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">https://copswiki.org/Common/M1989/</span></a><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"> </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">3. "</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">2020 General Election Audit Reports for Bartow GA, Fulton GA and Dane WI</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">" -- </span><a
href="https://copswiki.org/Common/M1986"
style="text-decoration:none;" moz-do-not-send="true"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#1155cc;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;-webkit-text-decoration-skip:none;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">https://copswiki.org/Common/M1986</span></a><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"> </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">4. </span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">NJ -- Three County 2022 Audit Narrative Report</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"> -- In this report, we provide details of many issues found by AuditEngine as the counties of Monmouth and Mercer were phasing in new voting systems.</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"> </span><a
href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HhAfIGlhEQUIHpyChl0uJORUmymGAZq9thdPMbKuGXs/edit?usp=sharing"
style="text-decoration:none;" moz-do-not-send="true"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#1155cc;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;-webkit-text-decoration-skip:none;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HhAfIGlhEQUIHpyChl0uJORUmymGAZq9thdPMbKuGXs/edit?usp=sharing</span></a><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">
5. <b>"Election 2023: County exec 'livid' at voting machine trouble but confident in accurate count"</b> <a
href="https://www.lehighvalleynews.com/elections/election-2023-widespread-voting-machine-problems-reported-in-northampton-county"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext" moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.lehighvalleynews.com/elections/election-2023-widespread-voting-machine-problems-reported-in-northampton-county</a> NOTE: Citizens Oversight has proposed to PA that we use AuditEngine to analyze this failure because it can not only read the barcodes but also can read all the voter-verifiable text.</span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"></span></p>
<br>
<br>
</b>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="border:none;display:inline-block;overflow:hidden;width:289px;height:171px;"><img
src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/QucpYEUKnR1SHwiUXHWrqzBgY1saFv1wLLmRmQSoNM9tD0V43PifGjWjzhrf6No9Dzl_IkAFlfgNbpL1D2UDXxuH1JfeMap8MgUpT9N6nlHXTQF_hYzP1MxN8eHZjVBgOgowbrwMDIeWVZNoBxrjsZs"
style="margin-left:0px;margin-top:0px;" moz-do-not-send="true"
width="289" height="171"></span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><b
style="font-weight:normal;"
id="docs-internal-guid-9e68ef25-7fff-bc5a-20a5-d9a8db317a88"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Ray Lutz, Executive Director</span></b></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">CitizensOversight, Inc.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">771 Jamacha Rd 148</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">El Cajon, CA 92019</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"><a
class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="mailto:raylutz@citizensoversight.org" moz-do-not-send="true">raylutz@citizensoversight.org</a></span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">619-820-5321</span></p>
<b style="font-weight:normal;"
id="docs-internal-guid-9e68ef25-7fff-bc5a-20a5-d9a8db317a88">
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"><span
class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span></span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"><span
class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span></span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"><span
class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span></span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"><span
class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span></span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"><span
class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span></span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"><span
class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span></span><span
style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">###</span></p>
</b>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
-------
Ray Lutz
Citizens' Oversight Projects (COPs)
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.citizensoversight.org"
moz-do-not-send="true">http://www.citizensoversight.org</a>
619-820-5321</pre>
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