Voting machines: what did the ANR's dissident faction find on the first day of audits?

Ahead of Paraguay's internal party elections on June 7, a dissident faction of the ruling Colorado Party, known as Colorado Añetete, is actively participating in audits of the voting machines. These machines will be used not only to select party candidates for the upcoming municipal elections in October but also to elect new party authorities.

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That date never happened.

Sergio Coscia, a political representative for the Colorado Añetete movement, expressed concerns regarding the transparency and security of the auditing process. He stated that a previous audit in February of this year did not involve the internal movements of each party, only the parties themselves. Coscia also noted that a subsequent date set by the Superior Electoral Court (TSJE) for an audit with movement participation was never met.

Further complicating matters, Coscia described a presentation of a voting machine by TSJE officials on April 28 as inadequate. Only one machine was present, preventing a thorough comparison and in-depth analysis of its hardware and software by technical representatives from the movements. He also highlighted an issue where a copied code from a 'pen drive' used to start the machine did not function correctly on another occasion. This required adding a new program to the 'pen drive', the function of which was unclear to the movement's representatives, necessitating its development "in the open" with their participation.

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In that presentation, only one machine was brought, so the technical representatives of the movements could not compare it with other devices and conduct an in-depth analysis of the hardware and software.

This week marks the beginning of the TSJE-promised audit, with representatives from the Colorado Party's movements auditing on Monday and Tuesday. Representatives from the opposition Authentic Radical Liberal Party (PLRA) are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. The audits aim to address concerns about potential vulnerabilities in the voting devices, ensuring a more secure and transparent electoral process for the internal party elections.

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The code stored on a 'pen drive' that serves to turn on the machine was copied and did not work when tested on another occasion.