by Allegra Dengler and George Klein
“The right to vote is preservative of all other rights. It is not just another issue alongside other issues. It is foundational.” Raphael Warnock (Senator, Georgia)
Hand counts of ballots that we mark ourselves are essential to verify the computerized vote count. New York voters currently vote on hand-marked paper ballots that are then counted by computer. Judges have denied hand counts requested by candidates and voters, even though national cybersecurity experts warn that computerized vote counting is vulnerable to breakdown and hacking.
Two recent races show the urgency of getting 100% hand counts to protect the vote count.
Anthony Brindisi (NY CD 22) was endorsed by Sierra Atlantic. He lost his race by 109 votes. Brindisi requested a hand count of all the ballots in the race, but was denied. The race was so poorly administered, it attracted the interest of the US Department of Justice, which is suing Oneida County, but there will be no new election.
Brindisi was favored to win the district. In polling by FiveThirtyEight, he would win in 73 out of 100 projected outcomes.
Rita Hart (Iowa-CD 2) was endorsed by the Iowa Sierra Club. FiveThirtyEight projected her to win in 88 out of 100. Instead, she lost by six votes.
Judges denied a hand count of 100% of the ballots in both races. We will never know which candidates actually won more votes in those races. Politicians with unpromising environmental records are now seated in Congress. NY CD 22 will be represented by Claudia Tenney, whose environmental record includes supporting legislation removing protection of streams from coal mining companies.
When administrations and legislatures hostile to the environment gain power, the environment suffers.
Ballots hand marked by the voter are the gold standard
It is urgent that New York mandate that all ballots be hand marked by the voter and are not printed on after being cast.
When New York was forced to give up its lever machines, the Sierra Club fought successfully to keep touchscreens out of NY. Now that victory is threatened.
New “hybrid” voting machines are under consideration. They combine a printer and a scanner in the same machine. On one model, the printer can print on the hand-marked ballot after the voter casts it, changing or disqualifying the vote. On another, the voter votes on a touchscreen that prints out a paper audit trail with a barcode.
Ballots must be 100% hand counted to verify the computerized vote count
Sierra and other groups successfully supported a NYS law, effective in 2021, mandating automatic hand counts in close elections. Hopefully we won’t see any repeats of elections like CD 22. However, many questionable races will fall outside the law’s very narrow close vote margin.
Elections must be decided by counting votes as cast by voters, eliminating “black box” processes introduced by voting machines of all types and technology. In elections, technology is not our friend. Technology introduces complexity, openings to hackers, voter mystification and finally, damage to election credibility in the eyes of voters. And voting machines are expensive.
A 100% hand count of all ballots is done in Germany and most other advanced democracies, responding to the threats of computerized counting. When there’s any question about an election result, that race must be 100% hand counted. The current 3% hand count audit is inadequate to detect errors.
Another problem we can solve
Each county in New York has a board of elections headed by two commissioners, a Republican and a Democrat. Both commissioners must agree to escalate a hand count audit. The commissioner whose party is in the lead will not agree to escalate.
What you can do now
Ask your assemblyperson and senator to co-sponsor and vote for:
1. Assembly A1115 (Paulin), Senate S309 (Myrie) bans voting machines that can print on the ballot after the voter has cast it.
2. Assembly A913 (Paulin), Senate S332 (Myrie) allows just one county board of elections commissioner to approve a recount.
Call George Klein at 914-772-3916 if you want to join the campaign for these election reforms.