Cayla Harris
Updated: Feb. 4, 2020 4:54 p.m.
ALBANY – As the state Board of Elections continues its certification process to adopt controversial touch-screen voting machines, the head of the Senate elections committee is urging the board's commissioners to hit pause while lawmakers gather feedback about the new technology.
The board is currently testing the "ExpressVote XL" voting system, designed by the Nebraska-based company Election Systems & Software, as part of a growing nationwide interest in ballot-marking devices — hybrid machines that allow voters to cast their ballots using a touch screen. The system spits out a paper record of the votes as a secondary measure to ensure an accurate count – but advocates have questioned the precision of the machines and whether they are vulnerable to hackers.
In addition, the machines were at the center of a botched November election in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, where a judiciary race was undercounted by thousands of ballots.
"Everything is always good until it’s not," said state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, D-Brooklyn, who chairs the Senate Committee on Elections. "Everything is shiny and cutting-edge until it's not.”
On Friday, Myrie wrote a letter to the state Board of Elections, urging commissioners to hold off making any decisions about the voting machines until he can call a public hearing on ballot-marking devices. At first glance, the machines "seem convenient and modern, but questions remain," he wrote in the letter, citing concerns from experts that the devices may be unreliable in close elections or produce paper records that are difficult to review.
"Through public testimony and submissions, we will be able to better assess the efficacy and security of not only ExpressVote XL, but ballot-marking devices generally," the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Times Union, states.
He anticipates the hearing would occur after the state budget — due April 1 — is finalized.
Members of the good-government organization Common Cause New York have been raising alarms about the technology for months, arguing that certifying the machines would "risk jeopardizing [New York] elections."
“The ExpressVote XL is a hackable voting machine that, if certified, will compromise the safety and security of our elections," said Sarah Goff, the deputy director of Common Cause NY. "We’re glad to see the Legislature commit to public hearings. Next, the NYSBOE must reject the machine.”
Election Systems & Software has stood by its devices, saying they are "among the newest election technology on the market today."
"Ballots cast with the ExpressVote XL are fully auditable," said Katina Granger, a company spokeswoman. "It has been through hundreds of thousands of hours of testing, including millions of ballots, and is certified by the Federal Election Assistance Commission."
Board of Elections spokesman John Conklin said the board received Myrie's letter, and the Legislature "should take whatever steps they deem appropriate." He said the board is following procedures described in elections law, as Election Systems & Software brought the machine to the board for certification and paid testing fees.
"The testing process is rigorous and can take many months to complete," Conklin said in an email. "The board’s decision will be based on the merits of the voting system and whether it passes or fails the statutory and regulatory requirements. Our independent testing authority is reviewing the source code at this time. No decision by the board is imminent."