Ryan Macias is an election technology and cybersecurity expert and former election technology specialist with the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and California Secretary of State’s office. Macias has worked with various states on election technology and observed ballot recounts. Macias was an observer for the Secretary of State in the controversial recount of Maricopa County, Arizona election ballots in 2021. Macias is also a member of National Task Force on Election Crises, which blamed President Donald Trump for inciting the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Background

Ryan Macias is the owner of RSM Elections Solutions LLC., a company he founded that consults on election technology and cybersecurity. ¹ As of 2022, Macias was also working as a consultant on infrastructure security at the Lafayette Group. ²  From 2016 to 2019, Macias worked for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission as a senior election technology specialist while serving as acting director of its testing and certification program his final three months with the organization. ³ Previously, he spent ten years as an election technology analyst with the California Secretary of State. ⁴ Macias has a B.S. in Business Administration from California State University-Sacramento. ⁵

Projects

Macias owns the consulting firm RSM Election Solutions LLC. (RSM Elections) that was formed in Washington, D.C. and registered as a foreign entity based in Oklahoma, where Macias resides. ⁶ In 2022, RSM Election Solutions also registered with the U.S. General Services Administration System for Award Management and State of Texas with a mailing address in Texas. ⁷ Macias and RSM Elections have worked for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on election security issues. ⁸

Prior to the 2020 election, in August 2020 Macias’ firm RSM Election Solutions entered into an unspecified contract with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to provide consulting services. ⁹ Macias was present in Fulton County, Georgia, after the 2020 election as an observer to the hand count audit and recount. ¹⁰ In a 2022 lawsuit in Arizona, Macias testified that a hand count of ballots would be less reliable than a machine count but noted that anomalies have been detected in voting tabulation software. ¹¹

Arizona

In 2021, the Arizona Senate conducted a recount of the ballots cast in Maricopa County over the objections of Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D-AZ). ¹² Macias was subsequently hired by Hobbs as an official recount observer along with individuals from the left-leaning Brennan Center for Justice and the officially bipartisan Democracy Project. ¹³

After the Maricopa County recount, Macias filed a declaration with the Superior Court of Arizona for Maricopa County stating that neither the hardware nor software used by the “Cyber Ninjas” auditing team complied with federal certification standards, the hand count did not follow best practices, physical security for the ballots were not followed to the highest standards, and review of non-voting technologies could lead to inaccurate and invalid test results and findings. ¹⁴ Macias further criticized the Veterans Memorial Coliseum where the recount was taking place for having improper air conditioning system for ballots, for the types of locks used to secure the ballots, and for the inadequate computer equipment in the room. ¹⁵

National Task Force on Election Crises

The self-described nonpartisan National Task Force on Election Crises, of which Macias is a member, alleged that then-President Donald Trump “incited a violent insurrection” at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and that “this attack on our democracy culminated with white supremacist rioters attacking the Capitol seeking to not only overturn the Constitutional order, but also take hostages and assassinate members of Congress and the Vice President.”  ¹⁶

1.  Ryan Macias LinkedIn profile. www.linkedin.com. Accessed July 30, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-m-47a2b2157/.
2. Ryan Macias LinkedIn profile. www.linkedin.com. Accessed July 30, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-m-47a2b2157/; Lafayette Group LinkedIn profile. www.linkedin.com. Accessed July 30, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-lafayette-group/about/.
3. Ryan Macias LinkedIn profile. www.linkedin.com. Accessed July 30, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-m-47a2b2157/.
4. Ryan Macias LinkedIn profile. www.linkedin.com. Accessed July 30, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-m-47a2b2157/.
5. ^[1] Ryan Macias LinkedIn profile. www.linkedin.com. Accessed July 30, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-m-47a2b2157/.
6. Open Corporates website. www.opencorporates.com. Accessed July 30, 2022. https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_dc/EXTUID_4234083; Buzzfile website. www.buzzfile.com. Accessed July 30, 2022. https://www.buzzfile.com/business/RSM-Election-Solutions-LLC-805-345-9050; Bizapedia website. www.bizapedia.com. Accessed July 30, 2022. https://www.bizapedia.com/ok/rsm-election-solutions-llc.html.
7. Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts website. www.mycpa.cpa.state.tx.us. Accessed July 30, 2022. https://mycpa.cpa.state.tx.us/coa/coaSearchBtn; OpenGovUS website. www.opengovus.com. Accessed July 30, 2022. https://opengovus.com/sam-entity/C7EURFKCARJ3.
8. ^[1] Report to Department of Homeland Security on Election Security. “CISA Gears Up for 2020 Election Security.” September 26, 2019. Accessed July 31, 2022. https://www.iaccr.net/PDF/iaccrseptemberpresentation.pdf.
9. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania contract with RSM Election Solutions LLC. August 5, 2020. https://www.coprocure.us/solicitations/b23ad67e-45f9-4b1d-9005-8d886d7da926/contracts/state-of-pennsylvania_4400023225_rsm-election-solutions-llc?file=5357986b-e3e4-474b-8876-ad8df373377e.
10. Declaration of Ryan Macias to the Superior Court of Arizona for Maricopa County. April 25, 2021. Accessed July 31, 2022. https://www.clerkofcourt.maricopa.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/2659.
11. Dana, Joe. “Federal Judge Holds Hearing on Arizona Voting Tabulation Machines.” 12News Phoenix, Arizona. July 21, 2022. Accessed August 1, 2022. https://www.12news.com/article/news/politics/elections/decision/federal-judge-hearing-arizona-electronic-voting-machines/75-12895f5d-49b0-4e13-bf9e-c1744ac96d94.
12. KTAR News. “Katie Hobbs Remains Firm on Criticism of Election Audit in Maricopa County.” June 21, 2021. Accessed July 31, 2022. https://ktar.com/story/4511598/katie-hobbs-remains-insistent-on-replacing-election-voting-machines/.
13. ABC15 Arizona website. “Secretary of State Gets Observers Inside Maricopa County Election Audit, Cyber Ninjas Has to Reveal Methods.” www.abc15.com. April 29, 2021. Accessed July 30, 2022. https://www.abc15.com/news/state/secretary-of-state-gets-observers-inside-maricopa-county-election-audit-cyber-ninjas-has-to-reveal-methods.
14. Declaration of Ryan Macias to the Superior Court of Arizona for Maricopa County. April 25, 2021. Accessed July 31, 2022. https://www.clerkofcourt.maricopa.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/2659.
15. McDonald-Evoy, Jerod. “Arizona Election Auditors Are ‘Making It Up as They Go,’ Expert Observers Say.” Arizona Mirror. May 19, 2021. Accessed July 31, 2022. https://www.azmirror.com/2021/05/19/arizonas-election-auditors-are-making-it-up-as-they-go-expert-observers-say/.
16. ^[1] National Task Force on Election Crises website. www.electiontaskforce.org. Accessed July 30, 2022. https://www.electiontaskforce.org/resources