Lax or nonexistent security on those systems, as well as the physical machines used to cast or count ballots, open the door to election hacking. Most overseas and military voters use a secure online portal provided by the Secretary of State, though some counties told the Mirror that they still accept ballots via fax or email. The Cochise County Recorder’s Office accepts only federal ballots - not those with state or local contests - via email, Stevens said, and only in specific circumstances, such as voters who are in the military and stationed overseas. “Encryption? We don’t do that,” Cochise County Recorder David Stevens told Arizona Mirror about the ballots his office accepts by email. And each of those governments has its own procedures for ensuring ballot and information security, and for purchasing, maintaining and testing the equipment that it uses to conduct its election.įor instance, even though more than 30 states allow overseas voters to cast their ballots by email, fax or through other electronic means, there are no standards for even basic security measures like encryption. National elections like the one in November, when Americans will decide whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden will lead the country for the next four years, are really thousands of smaller elections administered by state and county governments. There is no evidence, despite partisan claims to the contrary, that mail-in ballots are rife with voting fraud - but there are parts of the election system that security researchers say are at far greater risk for malicious activity. According to the borough clerk, the current year-long lease of the machines ends June 30, 2023, and cost the borough $72,257.īorough Mayor Edna DeVries indicated the move to do away with voting machines is more of a proactive approach for future elections.This is the third in a series of stories looking at voters’ concerns and voting issues in the 2020 election. ![]() Currently, the Mat-Su Borough leases 46 ImageCast Precinct voting machines each year, in addition to one central count system. If passed, the new legislation would go into effect in 2023. “I think it would be good to sit down after this election, look at how it went, and decide the best way forward for next year’s election.” “The assembly, including myself, just approved doing a full hand recount for this election to double-check the machines,” Nowers stated. Assemblymember Stephanie Nowers - who was in favor of the resolution - thinks the borough might be getting ahead of itself by introducing the new ordinance before the recount takes place. The ordinance comes after the assembly already passed a resolution directing the clerk to perform a hand recount of the upcoming Nov. “The legislations are a reflection of the overwhelming interest for a call for election integrity from the people that have come up and testified at the borough,” Bernier said. The legislation would amend Title 25 of the Mat-Su Borough Code which focuses on elections, and is being discussed at Tuesday’s regular assembly meeting. During discussion, members of the assembly also passed a motion to have a special meeting on Jan. ![]() ![]() An ordinance sponsored by Assemblymember Ron Bernier passed Tuesday night and will do just that - requiring ballots to be counted by hand instead of run through voting machines.īernier’s Ordinance 22-119 would require ballots to be counted by hand only, and passed the assembly by a vote of 6-1, with only Assembly Member Stephanie Nowers voting in opposition. PALMER, Alaska (KTUU) - Matanuska-Susitna Borough residents have made it clear by speaking during the public testimony portion of recent assembly meetings that they want election voting machines out of their precincts.
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