By Dan Murphy
The County Board of Legislators voted 12-5 to purchased 280 new voting machines despite concerns raised by five legislators who voted no and members of Indivisible Westchester. The cost was $4.7 Million and was requested by the Board of Elections to help serve disabled voters when they come to the polls in November.
The new machines purchased are very much like the old machines that Westchester voters have been using for more than a decade. Dominion Voting’s ICE ImageCast Evolution machines, are the ballots used by voters, filled out and then scanned into the voting machine.
The new ICE voting machines approved by the BOL and requested by the BOE, have an added feature that will allow disabled voters, and all voters, to cast their ballots in the same way. For the 12 members of the BOL who voted yes to purchase the machines, the hope was that the new machines will help alleviate the long lines that many county voters faced when they voted in the June 23 Democratic Primary.
But those who spoke out against the $4 Million in borrowing said that the current ICE machines work fine and that concerns about hacking into the ICE machines, and an inability to properly count ballots with the new machines, warranted a no vote.
Allegra Dengler, from Indivisible Rivertowns, wrote a letter to County Executive George Latimer, which outlines the opposition to the purchase.
“What if (Sen. Peter) Harckham lost to (Rob) Astorino but one of the ICE machines showed strange results? What if they found 300 ballots that were invalidated because the ballots were marked for both Harckham and Astorino? (Remember, the ICE can print on ballots after the voter casts them). What law could Harckham appeal to get over-voted ballots counted for him? writes Allegra Dengler, from Indivisible Rivertowns, in a letter to County Executive George Latimer.
“Election Commissioners Reggie LaFayette and Doug Colety stonewalled, lied, bullied and threatened the legislators to get them to bond the expensive Dominion ICE voting machines produced by a privately owned secretive corporation that US Senators are investigating.
“Instead of listening to the science, legislators bowed to the commissioners and narrowly approved the bond, with the exception of five dedicated public servants who read the testimony of independent experts in cybersecurity and voting machine technology. They believed the science instead of the talking points in the Dominion sales pitch, as channeled by the two election commissioners. In this regard, the other twelve legislators resembled climate change deniers listening to Exxon Mobil.
“Outside of New York City, in all the 61 counties in New York, Westchester was the ONLY county that experienced the lines and other extensive problems experienced by voters in the primary. Instead of preparing for the primary, the BOE was badgering the Legislature for these voting machines. Almost all of the other New York counties ran their primaries on existing equipment, but only Westchester, using the ICE, had the problems.
“Did the BOE create the problems in order to force the Legislators to buy the machines they wanted? Why have they been so determined to buy these machines? Is there more to their cozy relationship with the vendors and Dominion in particular?
“Four years ago, in the 2016 primary, New York City and Westchester (and again ONLY Westchester) were investigated by NYS Attorney General Schneiderman for problems with that primary. A report was issued and nothing was done. What’s going on at the Westchester County Board of Elections? Both Commissioners should be fired and replaced with competent professionals who are not party bosses or party hacks. I urge you to veto this Bond and give us a chance to have our votes accurately counted.” The five county legislators that voted no were Damon Maher, Jose Alvarado, David Tubiolo, Catherine Parker, and Ruth Walter. Parker and Maher expressed concerns about hacking and the desire to pursue a more hi-tech voting machine in the future,” wrote Dengler.
Instead of buying more ICE + machines, most leading experts in election security recommend having a hard copied, marked ballot for each voter. The current ICE machines provide that, while the new machines open up the possibility of being marked again if a hacker chose to infiltrate the system.
The same election security experts all agree that all election equipment that uses software can be hacked, regardless of some comments made by the BOE to the contrary. The back door to election troubles would come when machines are programmed by hackers to add additional marks, or votes, to ballots, after it’s been inspected and the vote cast. That would make those votes invalid when attempting a recount.
For more information on this topic, read How New Voting Machines Could Hack Our Democracy, by Jennifer Cohn, https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2019/12/17/how-new-voting-machines-could-hack-our-democracy/.
The new ICE machines are also called ballot-marking devices. While they are good for assisting disabled voters cast their vote, but as some legislators have suggested, they should be used only for those who need assistance, and will do little to help alleviate the long lines at the polls expected November 3.
During the debate, Legislator Damon Maher said, “We don’t need to buy all of these new ICE machines. Even if we did, we are buying too many. They’re too expensive. They have a serious security flaw according to many experts in the field. Because of that there are federal and State bills pending to outlaw the machines, which may be may obsolete soon by a change in technology and/or the trending preference in the future to vote by mail.”
State Senator Alessandra Biaggi, who represents Pelham and the Bronx, also opposed the purchases.“As we approach the most consequential election of our lifetimes, ensuring the safety and security of our elections is paramount. That is why I am disappointed that the Westchester County Board of Legislators gave the Board of Elections the green light to move ahead with their plan to purchase Dominion ICE voting machines. These hybrid machines pose an unnecessary risk that our election system can ill afford as it adapts to the challenges of COVID-19. I urge the Westchester Board of Elections to reconsider their decision and purchase machines that will protect residents’ votes without question.
“But we need to extend this conversation beyond Westchester, and achieve state-wide reform to voting machine certification criteria. I will continue to advocate for Senator Myrie’s bill, S6733, to bar the State Board of Elections from certifying hybrid voting machines that allow ballots to be altered once submitted. All New Yorkers deserve incontrovertible confidence when they cast their ballot that their voice will be heard,” said Sen. Biaggi.
Finally, Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner has made a good suggestion to those of us who will be voting by mail in November. “Many voters complained during the June primary that they did not receive absentee ballots in a timely manner after they submitted the requests. And, other voters worry that the postal service may lose the absentee ballots in the mail -depriving voters of their right to vote. Or, that the ballots arrive after the deadline passed. Our postal service is not reliable – many letters are lost, sent to the wrong address. President Trump has attacked our mail service -sowing voting fears. There is an alternative to an unreliable postal service.
“Since we can’t count on the Postal Service to send ballots to the right address in time and since voting by mail is important and we want to encourage maximum participation, I have a suggestion: The Board of Elections should place a secure and safe box (similar to a mail box) at each Town, Village and City Hall. If voters don’t trust the post office- voters could drop off their ballots at the municipal building. If people apply for a ballot and do not receive one before the primary each municipal building should have extra ballots that the voter can obtain and send in.”
“This recommendation, if followed, will increase voter participation and help make sure that everyone who wants to vote actually does vote. In June – in one legislative district in Brooklyn, about 20% of the ballots cast by absentee ballot were thrown out. Other states that have mail in ballots also don’t count ballots that arrive too late,” said Feiner.
The other option is to hand deliver your completed ballot to the BOE.
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