The US Election Assistance Commission (EAC) believes Dominion Voting Systems machines in Michigan use “modem transmission features” and “do not match the EAC-certified system configuration,” according to a letter the inspector general of the EAC sent to U.S. Congressman Bill Posey, which was obtained by National File. A top Dominion executive reportedly testified that his machines use cellular modems, which experts previously said “make Michigan elections vulnerable.”

EAC is an independent agency of the government created by the Help America Vote Act of 2002. Part of the EAC’s mandate is to provide information and resources regarding election administration throughout the country. While the EAC is critical of the use of cellular modems to transmit data, Dominion CEO John Poulos reportedly testified on December 15 that while Dominion machines are not connected to the Internet, in some places they use cellular modems to transmit results after hours.

“In addition, even if a state purchases an EAC-certified system, a state may alter the certified configuration for state-specific requirements (such as straight-party voting or modem transmission of results). Each state performs its own system certifications, to include those state-specific requirements,” the office of the inspector general for the EAC wrote to Congressman Posey. “For example, EAC believes Michigan may use modem transmission features in at least some of its Dominion voting systems. Dominion has not applied through EAC for certification of a voting system configuration that includes modem transmission, so if Michigan’s Dominion systems use modem 4 transmission, their systems do not match the EAC-certified system configuration. However, Michigan would have certified its configurations of its systems in accordance with the state law cited above.”