Policymakers believe that because the ballot scanners are not connected to the internet, our elections can't be hacked, but they can. The New York Times explained how in their Feb 21, 2018 article "The Myth of the Hacker-Proof Voting Machine" by Kim Zetter.
They believe that there are 100% hand counts sufficient to catch fraud or machine malfunction, but there aren't. The ballots being counted and fought over after close elections are only the handful of affidavit and mail-in ballots. The majority of the ballots sit uncounted in warehouses for 22 months and are then destroyed.
We've been meeting with policy-makers on a regular basis and some share our concerns. It's just a question of whether the issue will rise to a level of urgency that the legislature will prioritize hand count audit legislation in time to protect our vote in 2020.
JB: What other reforms would benefit New York State and its voters?
AD:All ballot scanners produce digital images of the ballots and save those ballot images. County Boards could post those ballot images on their websites. Then everyone could verify the computerized vote count, at little cost to counties.
Unfortunately, because of an ongoing lawsuit (Kosmider v Whitney) access to ballot images through FOIL (the Freedom of information Law) in New York is currently on hold while it works its way through the courts. I FOILed ballot images from the Democratic Primary in 2016 but have yet to get them.
It would be a simple fix for the New York State legislature to clarify that ballot images are public records and are subject to FOIL. This reform would shine a light on the hackable voting system, expose flaws that can then be remedied and ultimately give us elections we can believe in.
JB: I agree that could help. Is there a way to expedite the ongoing lawsuit you mentioned? Are New York's elections going to stay in limbo for what could be many months or even years? That doesn't sound right and could have serious repercussions on the 2020.
AD: There's no way to expedite the lawsuit. Lawsuits can drag on for years. The New York State legislature must join other states with laws clarifying that the public has the right to see the ballot images.
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