{"id":1678402,"date":"2022-10-07T14:22:42","date_gmt":"2022-10-07T18:22:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1678402"},"modified":"2022-10-07T14:22:51","modified_gmt":"2022-10-07T18:22:51","slug":"virginia-county-stops-using-konnech-election-software-following-ceos-arrest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/virginia-county-stops-using-konnech-election-software-following-ceos-arrest\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia County Stops Using Konnech Election Software Following CEO\u2019s Arrest"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fvirginia-county-stops-using-konnech-election-software-following-ceos-arrest%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1678402&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va.\u2014A county in northern <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-virginia\">Virginia<\/a> has ceased the use of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-election\">election<\/a> software by Konnech Corp. after the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/election-software-ceo-arrested-over-data-theft-storing-data-on-servers-in-china_4775971.html\"> arrest<\/a> of the company\u2019s executive earlier this week.<\/p>\n<p>Konnech CEO Eugene Yu, 51, was arrested in Michigan on Oct. 4 as part of an investigation into the suspected \u201ctheft of personal identifying information\u201d of Los Angeles County election workers, <a href=\"https:\/\/da.lacounty.gov\/media\/news\/head-election-worker-management-company-arrested-connection-theft-personal-data\">according<\/a> to the Los Angeles County District Attorney\u2019s (DA) Office.<\/p>\n<p>Michigan-based Konnech won a five-year contract with Los Angeles county in 2020, and stored election workers\u2019 data on servers in China, the DA\u2019s Office said. The office is now seeking Yu\u2019s extradition to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<p>PollChief, Konnech\u2019s election worker management system product, was designed to assist with poll worker assignments, communications, and payroll, according to the statement.<\/p>\n<p>After learning about the arrest on Tuesday, the Fairfax County Office of Elections has stopped using Konnech\u2019s PollChief election officer management software, said director and general registrar of the county\u2019s Office of Elections, Eric Spicer, in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times on Oct. 6.<\/p>\n<p>The county is also ending its contract with Konnech, Spicer added. Fairfax County election officials declined to comment on whether the county was securing a replacement software given the fast-approaching midterm election day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is important to note that Fairfax County has never used software from this company to collect or store sensitive personal information such as social security numbers or banking information,\u201d Spicer said in the statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFurthermore, this software is not connected to the county\u2019s voting systems or the state voter registration system. It cannot be used to tabulate votes or election results,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4780395\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/10\/06\/Konnech0-1200x353.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy wp-image-4780395 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/10\/06\/Konnech0-600x176.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"600\" height=\"176\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4780395 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/10\/06\/Konnech0-600x176.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"600\" height=\"176\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> The election officer portal of Fairfax County in northern Virginia says it\u2019s unavailable on Oct. 6, 2022. (Screenshot via The Epoch Times)<\/figure>\n<p>The county\u2019s<a href=\"https:\/\/training.electionofficers.com\/eop\/\"> election officer portal<\/a>, which runs on the PollChief software, currently says it\u2019s unavailable: \u201cWe expect to resume service in approximately one week. We will email all existing officers when the Portal is available again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Among the PollChief products purchased by the county was the PollChief Worker Management System, PollChief Worker Self-service Portal, PollChief Asset Management System, and the PollChief Help-Desk Management System, according to a May invoice issued by Konnech obtained by The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<p>The 2016 contract between Konnech and the county, also obtained by The Epoch Times, states that the company\u2019s servers are located in Lansing, Michigan, and that it also has a back-up server located nearby in Okemos.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4781614\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/10\/07\/0-DSC08253-1200x798.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4781614\" src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/10\/07\/0-DSC08253-600x399.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"600\" height=\"399\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> Signs outside the Fairfax County Government Center, a main early voting site, in Fairfax, Va., on Oct. 7, 2022. (Terri Wu\/The Epoch Times)<\/figure>\n<p>Christine Brim, a coordinator of the Fairfax County GOP election integrity working group that recruits and trains poll watchers to observe voting on behalf of the Republican Party, confirmed she was notified yesterday about the county\u2019s decision in a phone call from Christopher Henzel, chairman of the county electoral board and a Republican.<\/p>\n<p>Brim praised the county\u2019s election officials for taking swift action.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey did not wait to find an alternative vendor. They simply got out of the risky situation, to their credit,\u201d she told The Epoch Times. \u201cThey just turned on a dime, said \u2018no more,\u2019 and got out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brim said she was informed that Fairfax County didn\u2019t use PollChief for payrolls, and only stored workers\u2019 names and contact information on the platform. This doesn\u2019t eliminate the risk but it limits it, Brim said.<\/p>\n<p>According to Brim, the county used PollChief to manage election officers\u2019 training, scheduling, and communication. Spicer told Brim that the county never used the PollChief Asset Management System, which logs election equipment and poll location data, because it didn\u2019t work, she said.<\/p>\n<p>With 264 precincts in the county, and between five to 10 election officers needed per precinct for election day on Nov. 8, switching software now could be \u201cextremely challenging,\u201d Brim said.<\/p>\n<p>Another use of PollChief by the county was to accept applications for election officer positions via the election officer portal, which is now unavailable, Brim said. But people interested in becoming election officers can still<a href=\"https:\/\/apps.elections.virginia.gov\/OnlineForms\/OfficerofElection\"> apply<\/a> through the Virginia Department of Election, which will distribute the application to the corresponding counties.<\/p>\n<p>Virginia started early in-person voting on Sept. 23. Fairfax County began with three locations and would add another 13 on Oct. 27.<\/p>\n<p>The Epoch Times has reached out to Konnech for comment.<\/p>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-terri-wu\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/WEB_TerriWu.jpg\" alt=\"Terri Wu\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Terri Wu is a Washington-based freelance reporter for The Epoch Times covering education and China-related issues. Send tips to terri.wu@epochtimes.com.\n<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va.\u2014A county in northern Virginia has ceased the use of election software by Konnech Corp. after the arrest of the company\u2019s executive earlier this week.Konnech CEO Eugene Yu,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1678404,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1678402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1678402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1678402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1678402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1678404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1678402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1678402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1678402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}