New Touchscreen Voting Machines May Be Approved Despite Opposition

M.C. Millman

The paper ballot may soon be replaced with an electronic touchscreen known as ExpressVote XL by the New York State Board of Elections. 

A vote will take place on Wednesday by the state's four bipartisan elections commissioners regarding implementing a new voting machine that marks ballots and tallies votes. Three state commissioners must vote for certification before a county can purchase the new machines.

Many view this as a step backward in election security and oppose this new development. Thousands of letters of opposition have been sent to the Board of Elections. 

The Common Cause New York group sent a letter urging election officials to turn down the vote for the new machines. The group's letter reads, "ExpressVote XL fails to meet New York State source code security requirements and should not be certified on the basis of non-compliance. Further, the ExpressVote XL records and counts votes from an unreadable barcode, contrary to New York State law that requires voters have the opportunity to verify the record of their votes."

"We believe that it is vital to the safety, security, and health of our democracy that voters have the utmost confidence that their votes are accurately counted," stated a letter from the Let NY Vote Coalition. "The ExpressVote XL does just the opposite by relying on a barcode to tabulate votes and makes post-election auditing much more difficult."

Actor Mark Ruffalo took to Twitter to express his opinion. He Tweeted, "New Yorkers, Take 2 mins & protect your right to vote! @NYSBOE could replace our pen & paper #HandMarkedPaperBallots w/ new touchscreen voting machines that experts say could result in long lines & can't be audited. NY could determine Congress in 2024!"

State Board of Elections spokesperson Jennifer Wilson states that the touchscreen machines must undergo rigorous testing. A spokesperson for one touchscreen machine company claims their technology "meets and exceeds the requirements of New York State law."