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Dominion ICX — Machine Marks Ballots After Voter

The Dominion Image Cast Evolution (ICX) machine — used in six swing states in 2020 — is a combined ballot marking device and optical scanner built on a single paper path. Security researchers and computer scientists testified that if the machine is compromised with malicious software, it can mark votes onto a paper ballot after the last time the voter sees and handles the ballot, then feed the ballot back through to tabulate the machine-altered result. The technique can be configured to mimic a human hand-filling a bubble — making it visually indistinguishable from a genuine voter selection.

FieldDetails
Machine NameDominion Image Cast Evolution (ICX)
ManufacturerDominion Voting Systems
TypeBallot marking device + optical scanner (single paper path)
States Used 2020New Mexico, Ohio, Tennessee (2013); California, Florida, Minnesota, Virginia, Wisconsin (2016+); six swing states by 2020
Core VulnerabilityMachine can physically mark ballot after voter's last contact; mimics human bubble-filling
Adjudication LinkHigh reversal rates drive ballots into adjudication where bulk-batch changes occur with no audit trail
Evidence RatingSTRONG EVIDENCE — demonstrated by security researchers; Georgia reversal rates 15–20% documented

Video Evidence​

Dominion ICX machine demonstrated — marks ballots after voter; can mimic human bubble-filling; Georgia reversal rate 15–20%; combined with adjudication abuse for undetectable fraud. Source: @TheSCIF on X, April 9, 2026. (1,278 likes, 623 retweets, 22,765 views)

Summary​

The Dominion ICX (Image Cast Evolution) is fundamentally different from earlier optical scanners. Its critical design feature — a single paper path combining scanning and printing — means the same hardware that reads a ballot can also write to it. Security researchers demonstrated that the machine can be programmed to:

  1. Accept a ballot from the voter
  2. Scan it to read existing marks
  3. Identify undervoted races (where the voter made no selection)
  4. Print a mark in the undervoted race
  5. Reverse (re-feed) the ballot through the scanner to record the now-marked ballot as the tabulated result

When the machine mimics a human filling in a bubble — rather than filling it in neatly as a machine would — the paper ballot appears consistent with a genuine human selection, defeating paper trail audits.

According to @TheSCIF (April 9, 2026, 1,278 likes, 623 retweets): "You are even able to program the machine to mimic a 'human,' not neatly filling in the bubble to hide the fact that a machine filled in the selection."

The full note from @TheSCIF:

"The Dominion ICX machines are able to scan, tabulate, and MARK ballots AFTER the last time a voter handles their ballot. You are even able to program the machine to mimic a 'human,' not neatly filling in the bubble to hide the fact that a machine filled in the selection. This combined with the engineered features to purposely cause errors in order to send ballots into adjudication where bulk batches of ballots can be changed and marked at the click of a button with NO oversight, NO transparency, and NO audit trail is the perfect combination to rig and steal an election."

Transcription Evidence​

The video transcription includes testimony from at least two sources: a live demonstration-style presentation and expert commentary from computer science Professor Andrew Appell of Princeton University.

Key transcription excerpts:

On the core vulnerability:

"The voting machine is called the Image Cast Evolution or ICE machine. It's made by Dominion. This Image Cast Evolution Voting Machine has the physical ability to mark votes onto the ballot after the last time the voter seized the ballot."

On the attack scenario:

"There's a bad guy, I love it, because all I get to do is change the logic slightly, and I put in a voted ballot. And I see that the machine sees that I didn't vote on some down ballot race. So it votes for me. It reverses the ballot. And what do we do when it reverses? We just feed it back in."

On Georgia's reversal rate:

"In Georgia, the reversal rate on the tabulators was between 15 and 20%. And I said, what did you do? Well, we just feed it a second time, and then it takes it. Sometimes we have to feed it a third time and it takes it. But it always takes it. So you got to stop and say, what's going on here? Why is the tabulator reversing the ballot in the first place, and then it takes it on the second or third try?"

Professor Appell on the danger:

"If the machine is hacked, then they can install software that marks votes on the ballot after the voter lasts. And if the piece of paper can be marked by the computer after the last time the voter saw it and the whole paper trail is compromised."

On other vendors with the same capability:

"Security experts do not believe that the ice machine is the only voting machine being sold with the ability to add votes to paper ballots. Appell and other computer scientists believe that two versions of the express vote, a ballot marking device by another company, ESNS, have the same capability. That machine has already been purchased by half a dozen states."

How the Two-Step Fraud Works​

The ICX vulnerability is most dangerous when combined with adjudication abuse:

  1. Step 1 — Machine reversal: The ICX machine reverses (rejects) a ballot during scanning. This appears routine. In Georgia, this happened at 15–20% rates — far above expected failure rates.
  2. Step 2 — Hidden marking: On re-feed, the machine has marked the ballot. The altered mark is on paper, appears human-made, and is now the "official" paper ballot.
  3. Step 3 — Adjudication overflow: Separately, the machines can be configured to generate high error rates that push ballots into adjudication — where human operators (often partisan) make final selection determinations on batches of ballots with no meaningful oversight.

This is the mechanism @TheSCIF describes as "the perfect combination to rig and steal an election" — one that produces a paper trail that appears legitimate but reflects machine-altered selections.

The Adjudication Abuse Layer​

The ICX vulnerability works alongside the adjudication abuse design already documented in the 2020 Antrim County Michigan audit:

  • Antrim County: 106,000 of 113,130 ballots flagged for adjudication (approximately 94%)
  • FEC guidelines allow a maximum 0.0008% error rate (1 in 250,000)
  • Antrim County's reported rate was 68.05% — 85,000 to 224,000 times higher than FEC guidelines
  • The ASOG audit concluded adjudication logs for 2020 were "manually removed"

When adjudication runs without meaningful oversight, partisan operators can change "voter intent" determinations in bulk — one click changes hundreds of ballots simultaneously, and no audit trail records the change.

Key Figures​

  • Andrew Appell — Professor of Computer Science, Princeton University; researcher in software verification and election machinery; documented that the ICX can mark ballots post-voter contact
  • Jeff Lenberg (referenced in related transcription) — Expert cited in county liability discussions around the Trusted Build evidence destruction

Geographic Scope​

By 2020, six swing states had purchased machines that security experts said have the post-voter ballot marking capability, either the ICX or the ES&S ExpresS Vote (two versions). The specific states purchased "sometimes like in Philadelphia, over strong community opposition against expert advice."

According to the video's transcription, the Blue Ribbon Commission on Pennsylvania's election security recommended against barcodes — which these machines use — and "there were many, many issues in this process that are troubling."

The Counterargument​

  • Dominion and election officials state that ICX machines are tested and certified by the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and state certification authorities
  • The EAC certification process includes logic and accuracy testing before each election; defenders argue this would detect unauthorized software
  • Dominion states its machines are air-gapped (not internet-connected) during elections; a compromise would require physical access to install malicious software
  • Hand recounts in several states confirmed paper ballots matched tabulated totals — though critics note that if the paper ballot itself was altered before the hand recount, the hand recount would confirm the corrupted result, not the voter's original intent
  • Critics of the critics: the reversal rates in Georgia (15–20%) could reflect normal scanner sensitivity issues with certain paper stock or ballot printing conditions, not deliberate manipulation

What Was Never Examined​

  • No post-election forensic examination of ICX machines in swing states was conducted by neutral parties
  • The Georgia 15–20% reversal rate was not independently audited for pattern distribution (which races? which precincts?)
  • The barcode system (used in Pennsylvania against Blue Ribbon Commission recommendations) was never independently verified to accurately represent voter intent
  • No neutral party was given access to ICX firmware to verify whether the machines had been modified
  • Adjudication — Vote Changing at the Click of a Button — Standalone profile of the adjudication process: how it works, where it was abused, the election clerk's admission, and Antrim County's 94% adjudication rate
  • Sharpie Voting — The Maricopa County Sharpie scheme: a second documented mechanism for forcing Republican ballots into adjudication; ink bleed-through → scanner rejection → adjudication queue → vote changed
  • 2020 Antrim County Michigan — Where the adjudication abuse layer was forensically documented: 68% error rate, missing adjudication logs
  • Dominion Voting Systems — Full corporate profile; statistical analysis; $787.5M Fox News settlement; foreign ownership chain
  • Mark Cook — Georgia election/cyber-security expert who alleged Dominion built-in backdoor for untraceable vote-flipping
  • Ware County Georgia — Where fractional voting was documented: Trump 87%/Biden 113% per vote weight
  • Tina_Peters — Mesa County clerk who forensically documented election record deletion during Trusted Build update

Other Coverage Worth Reading​

  • Sharpie Voting: Maricopa County, 2020 — election workers gave Republican voters Sharpies; ink bleed-through caused scanner rejection; ballots routed to adjudication; clerk admitted votes changed at a click.
  • Adjudication: Full profile of the adjudication process as a fraud vector — election clerk admission, Antrim County 94% rate, deleted logs, no audit trail.
  • Dominion Voting Systems: Full profile — $400M Switzerland investment, HSBC/ICBC patent chain, 1.55% statistical vote shift, $787.5M Fox settlement.
  • Mark Cook: Georgia House testimony — 10 seconds censored at exact moment of backdoor technical disclosure.
  • 2020 Antrim County Michigan: 68% error rate, 106K of 113K ballots flagged for adjudication, missing logs.
  • Tina Peters: Clerk who caught the deletion — prosecuted and sentenced to 9 years after releasing forensic evidence.

Sources​

Last Updated: 2026-04-09 — New page created documenting Dominion ICX ballot marking capability, 15–20% Georgia reversal rate, and two-step adjudication fraud mechanism; includes full transcription of @TheSCIF video (post 2042056059540394122, IPFS CID QmYCvMowxe1HFwrrjA4y7hj3FpSeuzVRfB9Z8Fr8vuw2BE).

This information was compiled by Claude AI research.