Public commenters urge more transparency and ask AG to probe alleged vendor/foreign access; board records statements for review

During the public‑comment period the board heard requests for greater transparency and an appeal for a formal investigation into alleged access to voting systems by vendor employees and foreign nationals.

Darryl Bowe told the board he had collected roughly 2,000 pages of internal emails and asked the board to refer the materials to the attorney general for investigation, alleging Dominion Voting Systems employees and foreign nationals accessed election systems, used "softphones" to bypass monitoring, and altered records. Bowe asked the state board to review materials and to contact the attorney general to open an investigation.

Chair responded that the board would add the comments to the record and that the board itself has limited investigatory authority; public comment is preserved for the record. The board did not take immediate investigative action in response to that comment, but Bowe's remarks were entered into the meeting record and staff noted how to receive documents submitted by commenters.

Anne Gregorian separately requested the board direct the Department of Elections to post election complaints received during the last election on the department website under the HAVA state plan as amended in 2012, and criticized estimates of fees the department would charge for providing responsive documents. She said excessive charges would impede public inspection and transparency.

The board invited commenters to provide materials in writing and noted that FOIA law permits charging for responsive documents but does not require the department to collect fees; members asked staff to review the requests and respond.

Next steps: staff will include submitted comments and materials in the record and will follow up on requests about posting complaint materials and about the proper routing of investigative referrals where appropriate.