Wikipedia

Pro V&V

Pro V&V is a voting system test laboratory.[1] They are based in Huntsville, Alabama,[2] and their president and director is Jack Cobb.[3][4] As of 2021, Pro V&V, along with SLI Compliance, are one of only two organizations that the U.S. Election Assistance Commission has authorized to certify voting systems in the United States.

Pro V&V
Company typePrivate
Founded2011
HeadquartersHuntsville, Alabama, US
Key people
Jack Cobb (president and director)
Websitewww.provandv.com

History and activities

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Cobb stated that the company was founded in 2011, and as of 2021 has 12 employees and two contractors.[5] Cobb had previously worked for Ciber as a project manager until 2007,[6] as well as Wyle Laboratories.[7] According to the company's Form D filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Pro V&V had one investor who provided $200,000.[8]

They were accredited by the EAC in 2015.[9] According to the EAC, Pro V&V did not have an updated certification between 2017 and 2019 due to an "administrative error", but stated that the company was in "good standing", undergoing audits in 2018 and 2021.[1] The Arizona Republic reported that Cobb stated that the problem was "political".[10] The company was re-certified in February 2021.[9]

In addition to the United States federal government, Pro V&V has also worked with COMELEC in the Philippines since 2018.[11] Pro V&V worked on the source code for the software system used for counting overseas votes in the 2025 Philippine general election, the first in the country to use Internet voting.[12] Cobb dismissed concerns about votes potentially being hacked, but acknowledged that the system was not "hack-proof", stating "we still got time on our side because these things are not going to be deployed... They don't have enough time to learn it, and if they do learn it, the digital keys next election will be totally different. The encryption will be totally different".[13]

In a 2020 U.S. District Court case, the judge wrote in the court order that Cobb "does not have any specialized expertise in cybersecurity testing or analysis or cybersecurity risk analysis. Further, Mr. Cobb had not personally done any of the security testing referenced in his affidavits." He confirmed to The Arizona Republic that he is not a cybersecurity expert.[2]

Pro V&V had over $500,000 in loans from the Paycheck Protection Program forgiven. The loans were issued by Synovus.[14][15]

Clay Parikh testified on behalf of Kari Lake's attempt to overturn the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election and had also spoken at an election denial summit hosted by Mike Lindell.[16] Parikh stated in a court declaration that he worked for voting machine testing labs between 2008 and 2017, including Pro V&V.[17]

SMART Elections (a nonpartisan election integrity advocacy group that includes academics and activists[18][19]) noted that Pro V&V had approved software and hardware updates for Dominion and Election Systems & Software voting systems between March and September 2024, categorizing those updates as de minimis, which do not require testing. SMART Elections warned that this lack of testing for what it described as comprehensive updates risked malware entering the voting systems. SMART Elections stated that, since at least July 2024, the website for Pro V&V had error messages, and by February 2025, the site had been nonfunctional. Newsweek reported in June 2025 that Cobb had denied these allegations.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Cercone, Jeff (December 2, 2022). "Arizona's voting equipment was properly certified". PolitiFact. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  2. ^ a b Randazzo, Ryan; Fifield, Jen; Oxford, Andrew (June 3, 2021). "Who is looking at your ballot? These are the companies involved in the Arizona election recount". The Arizona Republic. Archived from the original on May 14, 2025. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Rahman, Khaleda (June 11, 2025). "Company behind changes to 2024 election voting machines speaks out". Newsweek. Archived from the original on June 12, 2025. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  4. ^ Abad, Michelle (April 12, 2025). "Comelec blocks 75,000 hacking attempts on online voting system". Rappler. Archived from the original on May 16, 2025. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  5. ^ Fifield, Jen (February 17, 2021). "A closer look at who is auditing Maricopa County's election and why it matters". The Arizona Republic. Archived from the original on February 11, 2024. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  6. ^ "CIBER Response to EAC Request1.pdf" (PDF). Election Assistance Commission. May 15, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  7. ^ "EAC Letter to CIBER1.pdf" (PDF). Election Assistance Commission. May 18, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  8. ^ "EDGAR Filing Documents for 0001532661-11-000001". United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Archived from the original on July 24, 2025. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Pro V&V". Election Assistance Commission. Archived from the original on December 17, 2024. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  10. ^ Ruelas, Richard (May 20, 2021). "Court names the 20 people who wanted to toss Arizona elections, put themselves in office". The Arizona Republic. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  11. ^ Patinio, Ferdinand (December 6, 2018). "'Trusted build' program for 2019 automated polls set Dec. 14". Philippine News Agency. Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  12. ^ Abad, Michelle (April 12, 2025). "Comelec blocks 75,000 hacking attempts on online voting system". Rappler. Archived from the original on May 16, 2025. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  13. ^ Baron, Gabriela (March 10, 2025). "Certification agency allays 'poll hacking' fears". Daily Tribune. Archived from the original on April 7, 2025. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  14. ^ "PRO V & V INC - Tracking PPP". ProPublica. July 7, 2020. Archived from the original on July 23, 2025. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  15. ^ "PRO V & V INC - Tracking PPP". ProPublica. July 7, 2020. Archived from the original on July 23, 2025. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  16. ^ Ladden-Hall, Dan (December 22, 2022). "Kari Lake's 'Expert' Witness Undermines Her Election Lawsuit". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  17. ^ "No. 23-1021" (PDF). Supreme Court of the United States. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 25, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  18. ^ Doctorow, Cory (February 3, 2021). "Voting machines didn't steal the election. But most are still terrible technology". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  19. ^ Thompson, Stuart A. (June 4, 2023). "These Activists Distrust Voting Machines. Just Don't Call Them Election Deniers". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
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