WHEATLAND – Safe and secure elections, both now and in the future, should be a priority for citizens in our county, state, and the nation, according to the Platte County Republican Party. This weekend the group hosted a public meeting to hear certified hacker, forensic investigator and cyber security expert Clay Parikh share his knowledge and experience after working as a specialist hired by the federal government and privately by election system suppliers to analyze voting machines and their vulnerabilities.
“If we want the truth, we must learn – and even if the topic is above our heads, we want to hear from the experts….this is an opportunity to hear an expert in person and have a chance to ask your own questions and interact with speakers,” Chloe Butler of the Platte County Republican Party said.
During the meeting attended by approximately 40 people, Parikh said he was in willful violation of non-disclosure agreements because he loves this country, and as a Marine Corps veteran with high level security clearance and experience working in nearly every department in the Department of Defense, he has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States multiple times since 1980. “Why is this guy from Alabama here talking to you about this subject? Because you’re my neighbor, and the only way to survive is by helping your neighbor,” Parikh said.
Parikh also spent nine years working with voting systems labs, “the ones that test your system,” he said. “I’ve shared this information all over the country, and there’s a reason they haven’t come after me (for breaching the non-disclosure agreements) – and it’s because they know I’m right.”
Parikh highlighted a lot of technical information in a variety of areas in which electronic voting systems and accompanying software can be manipulated without operators realizing it, but there were some main issues that would make all of them better. Those issues have never been addressed by either the government’s certifying agencies, the voting system suppliers, or any other entity through the chain that is supposed to safeguard and “certify” the machines. In his nine years receiving a paycheck to see if there are vulnerabilities in voting system machines, Parikh saw areas of great concern to him and personally pointed out to the government and election machine developers the issues and recommended changes, and “they didn’t care,” he said.
To this day, they have not addressed even the most basic of things he pointed out nearly 15 years ago: an operating system and anti-virus that is out-of-date – not to mention vulnerability patches being non-existent – should at least be required when vendors sell their machines to counties and states. It would also be good to ensure they were continued to be updated through the use of the machine.

“Your personal computer is more protected than the voting machines,” he said in regards to updated software and anti-virus programs.
Parikh also pointed out voting machines are classified as critical infrastructure by the federal government, but they are not being treated as such. He explained from his military experience an example of the safeguards in place for critical infrastructure designed to prevent any interference or “inside jobs” from manipulating critical infrastructure, and not even a semblance of those safeguards is being applied to voting machines nationwide.
Here is a short list of things he has seen (in addition to the software, antivirus and patching updates) that need to be addressed to safeguard the machine voting systems: voting manipulation safeguards actually written into the programming are turned off in many voting systems; any “maintenance” done on the machines needs to be closely monitored – all engineering change logs and codes are supposed to be analyzed and approved by the Secretary of State’s office (or whoever is in charge of the election) with a change order for each log; wholesale maintenance service providers need to be researched and looked at critically to determine their integrity and whether or not they are charging the taxpayers a lot of money for a service they are not providing; the log of information tracing the scanned images of every ballot need to be maintained and receipts analyzed; commissioners, county clerks, and anyone who work with or answering questions concerning voting machines need to have proper training and understanding of the machines – not just giving talking points the vendor has given them; and make sure there is a detailed chain of custody log for every component (ballots, USB cards from the machines, etc.) with no gaps and at least two people at all times.
This list is not impossible to accomplish, but it does take cooperation, planning, and oversight. Parikh emphasized the federal government is not doing that oversight and pointed out on the federal election assistance commission website, the rules they set forth for voting systems are as stated: voluntary. And most states are not following even those basic guidelines.
Ultimately, no system is perfect, and it is the job of the people of this nation to protect their freedoms. Parikh’s biggest piece of advice to protect the integrity of elections – no matter the form of counting – is for citizens to make sure they vote. The largest amount of fraud documented in any election is piggybacked on the disparity of the number of people eligible to vote, and the fact only a fraction of eligible voters do not vote at all.
“I think it’s always good to hear different perspectives. Clay Parikh offered good information,” Platte County Malcolm Ervin said, adding he will be looking into some things pointed out by the cyber security expert.
Ervin emphasized he believes the system in place in Platte County is accurately counting the votes cast. Further, he said, while there are some small changes that can be implemented, “any wholesale changes at this point are dangerous just before an election. For me, 2026 should be the goal if any changes are going to be made.”
The Platte County Republican Party, and the party statewide, are behind initiatives requiring hand-counting of election ballots as a way to safeguard the future against machine vulnerabilities that could potentially allow sources outside the state to manipulate Wyoming elections.
“I appreciate the efforts of Jill Kaufman and Chloe Butler (Platte County Republican party representatives.) Iron sharpens iron, and though there’s sometimes friction in the process, it’s made me do my job better. Though we don’t always agree, we share the same goal: to ensure accurate and honest elections. I think ours currently does that, but it doesn’t mean we can’t make it better.”
He added, he doesn’t see why there couldn’t be a system where the votes are counted by the machine, then post-election verified by hand.
Though there are many concerns with electronic voting systems, they are not going away any time soon – if ever, there are many who fight the concept of hand-counting all ballots during elections – though it has been done for two centuries in this country. But, with the implications upon personal freedoms at stake, the debate is putting two very polarized factions of our community and state in a locked-horns battle for their concept of what an accurately counted election looks like in action.
No matter your take on the method votes are cast and counted, show up at the polls and vote. It’s the simplest solution while the debate continues and any kinks in the system are worked out. And every citizen can do it. For more information on voting in Platte County, stop by or call the Platte County Courthouse at 800 9th street in Wheatland, or go to the website at plattecountywyoming.com.