But the lines of ownership get more blurred. McCarthy, and Thomas Burt, the president and CEO of ES&S, are officers at Government Systems, Software & Services, Inc., which offers support for sales of electronic election equipment. Government Systems lists its address as the same Omaha address as the headquarters for ES&S. ncorporates.com/companies/us_ne/10113031
People who want to learn more about how ES&S functions also ask whether the company uses parts made in China, a country that is not always friendly with the U.S.
"NBC News examined publicly available online shipping records for ES&S for the past five years and found that many parts, including electronics and tablets, were made in China and the Philippines, raising concerns about technology theft or sabotage.
When NBC took a tour in this country, "the president of ES&S "said the overseas facilities are 'very secure'". He said the final assembly of voting machines takes place in the U.S.
However, NBC added, "Chinese manufacturers can be forced to cooperate with requests from Chinese intelligence officials to share any information about the technology and therefore pose a risk for U.S. companies, NBC News analyst Frank Figliuzzi, a former assistant director of the FBI for counterintelligence, said. That could include intellectual property, such as source code, materials or blueprints. There is also the concern of machines shipped with undetected vulnerabilities or backdoors that could allow tampering. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/all/chinese-parts-hidden-ownership-growing-scrutiny-inside-america-s-biggest-n1104516
Articles examining the business practices of ES&S go back at least two decades, when the AP reported that the former Florida secretary of state lobbied government officials to buy ES&S equipment when she worked for the Florida Association of Counties.
But ES&S started getting more scrutiny after the federal government revealed that Russia attacked U.S. elections in 2016.
Fair Fight Action, an election protection and voting rights group, has compiled extensive research on how ES&S conducts business.
And a 2018 Miami Herald article documents some ways ES&S entices government officials to buy their products.
"The nation's largest voting equipment vendor has for at least nine years coaxed state and local elections officials to serve on an 'advisory board' that gathers twice annually for company-sponsored conferences, including one last year at a ritzy Las Vegas resort hotel.
"The arrangement could compromise the integrity of the officials' decisions or at the very least, the optics of those decisions at a time when they are faced with efforts by Russia and perhaps other nations to disrupt the upcoming mid-term elections, ethics and elections experts said." https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article213558729.html
Sometimes ES&S plays nice. But not always. An investigative report contends the company plays rough when it doesn't get its way.
"A ProPublica examination of ES&S shows it has fought hard to keep its dominance in the face of repeated controversies. The company has a reputation among both its competitors and election officials for routinely going to court when it fails to win contracts or has them taken away, suing voting jurisdictions, rivals, advocates for greater election security and others." click here
Lobbying, enticing government officials with fancy meetings and filing lawsuits aren't the only ways ES&S protects its turf.
The company position is also bolstered by campaign contributions, with people who worked as lobbyists for ES&S giving money to Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell before he blocked two Democratic-backed election-security bills.
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