No, that is incorrect. It is based on a misunderstanding of the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s decision to approve a new version of a voting system.
Misinformation about upgrades to Dominion Voting Systems in Wisconsin came from Mike Lindell’s “Cyber Symposium” in August 2021. A speaker at the symposium claimed that the Wisconsin Elections Commission gave Dominion Voting Systems permission to update all the voting equipment in Wisconsin. That’s not what happened.
First, some background. There are multiple voting equipment vendors with different systems approved for use in Wisconsin including Dominion, ES&S, and Clear Ballot.
Before companies can sell voting equipment to local governments in Wisconsin, the system must be approved by the Wisconsin Elections Commission. When the WEC receives applications from voting equipment vendors, staff tests them to determine whether they meet the requirements of Wisconsin’s election laws. A Voting Equipment Review Panel made up of clerks holds a public meeting to review the application and provide feedback to the Commission. The six members of the Wisconsin Elections Commission must then vote to approve the system before the vendor can sell it in Wisconsin.
Voting equipment vendors sell voting systems to counties and municipalities. The WEC does not approve or have copies of those contracts, but does maintain a list of which municipalities use which voting equipment systems here: https://elections.wi.gov/elections-voting/voting-equipment/voting-equipment-use.
At its June 2, 2021 meeting, the WEC did approve an application from Dominion for a new version of Dominion Voting Systems Democracy Suite, versions 5.5-C and 5.5-CS. All the information about that meeting, including Dominion’s application, the staff report, the meeting minutes and video are here: https://elections.wi.gov/event/wec-june-2021-regular-meeting.
The WEC’s approval of a new voting system does not mean Dominion customers will be upgraded. For individual municipalities and counties to have their systems upgraded, they would have to buy the new version of the system.
Are counties required to keep their voting equipment and programming for 22 months after a federal election?
Federal and state laws require local election officials to retain certain election materials, including ballots, for 22 months after a federal election. Wis. Stats §7.23. This includes copies of data from the memory devices for each piece of voting equipment. However, the law does not require retention of voting equipment or copies of programs on computers that are used to manage voting equipment for 22 months after an election.
Does anyone keep copies of the code used to program voting equipment?
Yes. The State of Wisconsin requires voting equipment vendors whose systems have been approved for use in the state to escrow a copy of their source code. This means that each time the Wisconsin Elections Commission approves a new version of a voting system, the vendor must deposit a copy of the source code with an escrow company.