New voting machines in NC touted as safe and secure
The North Carolina State Board of Elections unanimously approved a new upgraded voting system on Thursday.
All members from both parties agreed it will be as safe and secure as current systems already in use in North Carolina.
The latest offering from Elections Systems & Software (ES&S) is considered to be a "new" system, but in practical terms, election officials say, it's basically an upgrade of the three already-approved ES&S systems many counties already use.
Counties will have the option to choose it to replace older machines that are becoming obsolete.
The new machines have more memory than older ones, and they run on newer operating software. However, the new machines will be just as secure, if not more secure, than the machines that they replace.
Like the old machines, the new ones will not be connected to the internet in any way.
Those who can vote on paper will still fill out their ballot and put it in the tabulator. For those who need assistance marking their ballot, a touchscreen system will produce a paper ballot that the voter can verify before it goes into the tabulator as well.
Republican state elections board member Kevin Lewis said that gives him confidence.
“There’s a paper trail for every ballot,” Lewis said. “So, this is not anything that's just out in cyberspace.
“You know, it's real and tangible. There's no internet involvement in any of this tabulation equipment,” he added.
Board members said they’re aware of how important it is to make sure voters trust the process.
Democratic board member Siobhan Millen said the touchscreen aspect is a big improvement over earlier systems that generated a barcode paper trail that voters couldn’t visually verify.
“Now that they have the piece of paper that you're given [that] reflects, in English, what your candidates are and what your choices were, I feel … that's a lot better, for the voter to have that confidence,” Millen said.
Board chair Alan Hirsch, also a Democrat, said confidence in the accuracy of elections has never been more important than it is in the current moment, when so many voters are doubtful in the wake of unproven allegations about the last presidential election.
“I think it's incumbent upon us, as members of the board and staff, to communicate that prior to the next general election in particular, so that the public … we can provide as much confidence as possible to the public that they are getting what they deserve in a democratic system,” Hirsch said.
Federal election officials already testified and certified the new system along with the state and a private firm contracted by the state to do extra testing. It will be available to county election boards for purchase next week.
