A dive into a voter software company

Konnech Inc.

Aug 16, 2022

Konnech Inc. was incorporated in 2002 in Michigan by Eugene Yu. In 2005, Jinhua Yulian Network Technology Co., Ltd. was established in Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province, China with $130,000 USD funds by Yu Jianwei, a person who was a "foreign national person" to China. Is Eugene the Americanized name of Jianwei?

In 2006, two projects were developed, BestBrief and SchoolBrief. BestBrief was a mass communication system, intended to get urgent messages out quickly via multiple avenues: Phone, Fax, PDA, SMS. It was a step up from phone trees. It utilized Konnect Kranium IP-Enabled PBX Servers.1

There were add-on modules for specific industries. These included K'Plus for school communications, Koko for restaurant dispatching, K'otel for Hotel/Motel management, and K'Access for call center applications.

SchoolBrief, is still actively used in multiple school districts. SchoolBrief is another management and communication system, integrating email, text, fax, website design, attendance recording, personal web pages, and staff & student directories that is a web-based subscription service. It appears to be a built-out module of BestBrief. At this time, Konnech was clearly aligned with the telecommunications industry.

In 2009, PollChief was created, a comprehensive election management software. 2010, ABVote was created. ABVote & ABVote Premium enabled overseas and military voters to submit ballots electronically. Here is a shift from telecommunications to voting/elections.

In 2012, Eugene Yu, along with Jun Yu from Zhejiang and Guojun Shao from Jinhua were inventors in a US patent "Device and method for selection of options by motion gestures" The name Guojun Shao will come up again later.

September 2012 was the creation of both iPetitioner and PLocation. iPetitioner helped candidates gather signatures and authenticate their voter registration. PLocation checked-in poll workers and verified voter status. Apparently voter data would "Self-destroy Right After the Election to keep the data protected".

2014-2015, according to a "Wucheng District 2013-2017 District - level Science and Technology Plan Project Funding Checklist" (machine translated), Jinhua Yulian Network Technology Co., Ltd. was engaged in "Research and Development of Network Election Backend Server Subsystem". An undated Chinese webpage, machine translated, said that "Konnech's branch in Jinhua, Zhejiang is now in need of several talents.".2 Konnech's..branch..in..Jinhua.

A few important connections happened in 2015. Jinhua Hongzheng Technology Co., Ltd. was established. I'll note that one of the initial investors was "Shao Guojun". The domain for this company was created, and the registrar's email was konnech.com.

Registrant: 金华鸿正科技有限公司 = Jinhua Hongzheng Technology Co., Ltd.

There was also a Chinese patent for "System and data processing method for network voting of absent electorates." The rights were transferred from JINHUA KONNECH, INC. to JINHUA HONGZHENG TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. One of the inventors was "Shao Guojun".

I'll conclude this section with another machine translated quote, from Jinhua Hongzheng's website:

"Jinhua Hongzheng Technology Co., Ltd. focuses on the informatization construction of the Smart People's Congress. It is a digital service provider that understands the business of the People's Congress. It has a professional representative service platform, intelligent tablet voting system, paperless reading system and electronic voting system, etc."

Timeline

(all domains noted below were registered to Konnech)

2002-03-20 Konnech Inc. Incorporated in Michigan ID Number: 800599006. Eugene Yu holds all officer titles: President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Director of Konnech, Inc. (2021 is the most recent Annual Report with officers listed)3
2002-03-30 konnech.com domain created
2005-11-29 Jinhua Yulian Network Technology Co., Ltd. established in Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province, China with $130,000 USD funds. Principal of the company is Yu Jianwei (于建伟), a foreign natural person (ie, a US resident).4
2006-01-16 bestbrief.com domain created
2006-01-16 schoolbrief.com domain created
2009-01-08 pollchief.com domain created (Election management software, Election services, Poll worker training)
2009-03-25 Konnech filed for PollChief trademark. Serial Number 77698702, Registration Number 39513965
2010-11-12 abvote.com domain created
2011-04-26 Trademark registered for PollChief
2011-09-07 Konnech filed for ABVote trademark. Serial Number 85416420, Registration Number 43845776
2012-04-18 US Patent application US-20130104090-A1 "Device and method for selection of options by motion gestures".7 8
Inventors:
Eugene Yu (Okemos, MI)
Jun Yu (Zhejiang)
Guojun Shao (Jinhua) (See 2015-04-13 and 2015-10-07)
2012-09-05 ipetitioner.com domain created (Signature Verification Software)
2012-09-26 plocation.com domain created
2012-10-12 Konnech filed for iPetitioner trademark. Serial Number 85752482, Registration Number 43910139
2013-04-25 US Patent granted "Device and method for selection of options by motion gestures". 10 11
2013-08-13 Trademark registered for ABVote
2013-08-27 Trademark registered for iPetitioner
2014-2015 Jinhua Yulian Network Technology Co., Ltd. engaged in "Research and Development of Network Election Backend Server Subsystem".12 [Translated via Google]
2014-06-06 votedge.com domain created (a Konnech shake to vote app)
2015-04-13 Jinhua Hongzheng Technology Co., Ltd. established13
Initial Investors
He Qiong 何琼 Contribution: 0.5; Percentage: 0.1%
Jiang Zhaoling 江照灵 Contribution: 0.5; Percentage: 0.1%
Shao Guojun 邵国君 Contribution: 0.5; Percentage: 0.1%
Tang Ruixin 汤瑞新 Contribution: 0.5; Percentage: 0.1%
Yu Jun 于君 Contribution: 0.5; Percentage: 0.1%
Zhao Xiangkun 赵祥坤 Contribution: 0.5; Percentage: 0.1%
Yu Lin 于林 Contribution: 497; Percentage: 99.4%
2015-07-31 hongzhengtech.cn domain created14
2015-10-07 Transfer of patent application right for a Chinese Patent (CN-104618378-A & CN-104618378-B). System and data processing method for network voting of absent electorates. Rights transferred from JINHUA KONNECH, INC., TO JINHUA HONGZHENG TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.15
Inventors:
Chen Wei 陈伟
Shao Guojun 邵国君

Business & Project Names

ABVote
https://web.archive.org/web/20150509230423/http://abvote.com

ABVote Premium

BestBrief
Quickly create and deliver messages from anywhere - "on the fly" - to any or all devices
https://web.archive.org/web/20160327121723/http://www.bestbrief.com/

ChineseBrief16
https://web.archive.org/web/20110202222521/http://chinesebrief.com/School/Theme1/Home.aspx

iPetitioner
Signature validation
ipetitioner.com

Jinhua Hongzheng Technology Co., Ltd.
hongzhengtech.cn
Website title: 金华鸿正-代表履职服务平台|电子表决器|数字人大建设服务商 =
Jinhua Hongzheng-Representative Performance Service Platform | Electronic Voting Device | Digital People's Congress Construction Service Provider (machine translated)

Jinhua Yulian Network Technology Co., Ltd.

jocoportal
Election Worker Portal
jocoportal.org

Konnech Inc. aka Konnech' Inc. (no, this isn’t a typo)
konnech.com

PLocation
https://web.archive.org/web/20161028151640/http://www.plocation.com
Swipes voters in, verifies their registration status, and directs them to their correct precinct and voting location.

PollChief
pollchief.com
"a complete elections management system for the streamlined management of poll assets, locations, workers, election call centers and election night results."

SchoolBrief
”SchoolBrief is the only school product on the market that combines Website design, hosting, management functions; and mass two-way communication capabilities.” schoolbrief.com
Some of their clients: https://archive.ph/mJGLv

VotEdge
votedge.com