HTTPS://SPECTRUMLOCALNEWS.COM/NYS/CENTRAL-NY/NY-STATE-OF-POLITICS/2022/05/13/ADVOCATES-CALL-FOR-END-TO--ALL-IN-ONE--VOTING-MACHINES
CENTRAL NY MAY 15, 2022 10:55PM ET
STATE OF POLITICS
Advocates call for end to 'all-in-one' voting machines
BY NICK REISMAN CITY OF ALBANY
PUBLISHED 5:47 AM ET MAY. 13, 2022
Advocates and state lawmakers are calling for a ban on the use of "all-in-one" voting machines that use a printer and ballot scanner in the same device.
Supporters of ending the use of those machines argue they lack sufficient cyber security standards and are too costly.
"Lawmakers must act quickly and pass legislation that bans One-in-All voting machines for good," said Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause/NY. "They are wasteful, insecure and deeply flawed machines. Our current system is already the current gold standard: voter-marked paper ballots and optical scanners. Any one-in-all voting machine would be a serious –and expensive – needless step backwards. Protect the voters and secure the right to vote."
Lawmakers are considering a bill in the final days of the legislative session that would put a ban in place and in essence keep the current machines that require a two-step process of marking a paper ballot and feeding it into an optical scanner.
The bill, backed by Sen. Zellnor Myrie and Assemblymember Amy Paulin, would ban voting machines that use bar or QR codes. Some lawmakers also point to the roadblocks the machines could create for non-English speaking voters.
"This bill would put New York at the forefront of election modernization and security by implementing a comprehensive set of standards for voting machines, prioritizing the voter experience,” said Paulin, the sponsor of the bill in the New York State Assembly. "The bill would also contribute to more efficient voting, as hybrid voting machines are known to lead to long lines and confusion at polling places. Importantly the bill would guarantee that every election could be audited with paper ballots that clearly indicate voter intent. Passing A.1115C/S.309B would leave no doubt that our voting machines are safe and would give voters confidence that their ballots are being counted accurately.”