EMAILS: GREEN BAY’S ‘HIDDEN’ ELECTION NETWORKS
MADISON — A former Democratic operative intricately involved in Green Bay’s November election was given access to “hidden” identifiers for the internet network at the hotel convention center where ballots were counted, according to new emails obtained by Wisconsin Spotlight.
Green Bay city officials insist the presidential election was “administered exclusively by City staff.” But the emails show Michael Spitzer-Rubenstein, Wisconsin State lead for the National Vote at Home Institute, had a troubling amount of contact with election administration.
“I’ll have my team create two separate SSID’s for you,” Trent Jameson, director of Event Technology at Green Bay’s Hyatt Regency and KI Convention Center, where the city Central Count was located on Election Day, wrote to Spitzer-Rubenstein.
SSID stands for Service Set Identifier. It’s an internet network’s name. Open up the list of Wi-FI networks on your laptop or phone, the list of SSIDs will pop up. Wireless router or access points broadcast SSIDs so nearby devices can find and display any available networks.
SSID hiding keeps the network name from being publicly broadcast. The SSID won’t immediately pop up in the display, although the network name remains available for use.
“One SSID will be hidden and it’s: 2020vote. There will be no password or splash page for this one and it should only be used for the sensitive machines that need to be connected to the internet,” Jameson wrote in his Oct. 27 email to Spitzer-Rubenstein. He in turn forwarded the email to Celestine Jeffreys, Mayor Eric Genrich’s chief of staff, on Oct. 30.
Also on the email were, Amaad Rivera-Wagner, the mayor’s community liaison; Jaime Fuge, Green Bay’s chief election inspector at the time; Shelby Edlebeck, multimedia communications specialist; and Mike Hronek, the city’s Information Technology Services administrator.
“The other SSID will be: gbvote and that one can be seen in the settings app of your phone or laptop under ‘networks’ and should be used for the poll workers who need internet,” Jameson wrote.
Jameson told Spitzer-Rubenstein there would be a third SSID, which was to be used by media or other guests “not part of your team.”
Why would a guy who has been described as a consultant or adviser to the city need to have hidden SSIDs? Why would the city want him to have knowledge of Service Set Identifers for “sensitive machines”? He was brought in to provide technical support, but why would Spitzer-Rubenstein receive such sensitive information before the city’s IT director and the clerk’s office?
Genrich, Green Bay’s mayor, did not return Wisconsin Spotlight’s call seeking comment.
As Wisconsin Spotlight first reported, Spitzer-Rubenstein and his National Vote at Home Institute were heavily involved in Green Bay’s election process.
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