New Election Integrity Software Draws Scrutiny as Developers Pitch Programs to States

The creators of a controversial voter fraud detection program are now offering two new software applications to state election officials, reigniting debate over data accuracy and the efficacy of private election integrity initiatives.

New Offerings From Previous Developers

Dr. John W. “Rick” Richards Jr. and his son, John W. Richards III, are actively pitching two new election software programs, ELLY and Psephos, to state election officials. This follows their previous program, EagleAI, which aimed to assist officials and activists in identifying inaccurate voter registrations. EagleAI gained traction among members of the Election Integrity Network, a group founded by former President Donald Trump's election lawyer, Cleta Mitchell. However, the program also faced significant criticism from election officials and experts, and even some activists who utilized it, citing concerns about its accuracy.

The father-son duo has since presented ELLY and Psephos to election officials in Missouri, North Carolina, and Rhode Island. This information comes from email correspondence and pitch materials obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests by the nonpartisan government watchdog American Oversight, subsequently shared with NBC News. Richards Jr. also presented ELLY at an "Election Integrity Summit" in Washington, D.C., last month, according to attendees who publicly discussed the closed-media event. Richards III confirmed that both programs are slated for presentation to the Georgia State Election Board, where allies of former President Trump hold a majority. Both Richards III and his father declined to provide further comment to NBC News ahead of that meeting.

How the Programs Operate

Promotional materials distributed to election officials indicate that ELLY and Psephos share a similar operational framework with their predecessor, EagleAI. All three programs aggregate publicly available records from various sources, including obituaries, U.S. Postal Service data, property tax information, and mapping services like Google Maps. Users can then cross-reference this compiled data with official voter registration rolls to identify potential discrepancies.

ELLY is specifically marketed to county-level officials and is spearheaded by Richards Jr. Psephos, conversely, targets state-level officials and is led by Richards III. While ELLY intends to rely entirely on public records, Psephos plans to integrate additional government and commercial data alongside public records, according to materials shared with officials.

The development of such programs follows a trend that emerged after the 2020 presidential election, spurred by false claims regarding widespread voter fraud. A "cottage industry" of activist groups and associated programs has since emerged, organizing both physical and digital efforts to verify election results and voter rolls. Election officials commonly acknowledge the ongoing challenge of maintaining accurate and up-to-date voter rolls, as existing systems are often optimized for registration rather than removals.

Concerns Over Data Accuracy and Effectiveness

Despite the stated aim of improving voter roll accuracy, the new programs, like EagleAI before them, have drawn skepticism due to concerns about the reliability of their data sources and methodology. Critics argue that mass challenges based on such data frequently generate substantial workloads for election officials with minimal demonstrable payoff, as many challenged voters ultimately remain on the rolls and are deemed eligible. Moreover, extensive investigations have consistently found no evidence of widespread voter fraud impacting election outcomes.

Chioma Chukwu, Executive Director of American Oversight, issued a statement highlighting these concerns. "Election integrity demands reliable tools to safeguard sensitive voter information yet platforms like ELLY and Psephos fall short, relying on outdated data lags, high false positive rates from probabilistic matching, privacy and legal compliance risks, and unvalidated accuracy claims that threaten eligible voters’ rights," Chukwu stated.

Experts point out that publicly available data, which forms the core of ELLY and a significant part of Psephos, is inherently less reliable for voter roll maintenance compared to the personal, protected information government entities utilize, such as Social Security numbers and driver’s license data. David Becker, who played a key role in developing the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), an interstate program designed to help states maintain voter rolls, underscored this challenge. He noted that even seemingly straightforward identifiers like names and birth dates can lead to "huge numbers of false positives, far more false positives than true positives." Becker emphasized that obtaining truly "quality data" necessitates access to more sensitive and precise information. These inherent limitations suggest ELLY and Psephos could encounter the same accuracy and efficacy challenges that plagued EagleAI.

Top Stories

Recent Articles

More Articles