Despite claims by groups, NY elections are ‘secure’
By Aidan Dusenbury-Dalto | Manor Ink
Sullivan County, NY – The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization working to protect and expand voting rights to ensure everyone is represented in our democracy. The League has a free resource for registering to vote, finding out where to vote and what will be on the ballot for your location, at vote411.org.
Barbara Eddington, a volunteer with the League of Women Voters of New York, discussed with Manor Ink how the organization is focused on voter turnout and opposition to voter suppression. She explained that verifying a person’s identity and citizenship take place through a rigorous process when they first register to vote.
“When a person goes to vote, the League opposes requirements for photo IDs or documentary proof of citizenship. Not everyone can get those documents,” she explained. “It impacts the elderly who may not have a driver’s license anymore. It impacts students. It impacts low income people. Those requirements create a cost and a hindrance to voters. We consider that voter suppression.”
SOWING DOUBTS Marly Hornik, executive director of United Sovereign Americans, right, discusses her contention that voter rolls in New York State and around the country have thousands of fraudulent voters on “Steve Bannon’s War Room” in August. Hornik’s claims have been repeatedly debunked by election officials, including those in New York. Screen grab image
Eddington highlighted New York’s secure election processes, including bipartisan oversight at the polling places where people vote and paper ballots back up electronic voting.
Unfortunately, there are active groups in New York, as well as around the country, that are trying to sow doubts about the validity of the voting process. Manor Ink reported on one such group, New York Citizens Audit, in its December 2023 issue. That group appears to have closed down after NY Attorney General Letitia James issued a cease-and-desist order to stop them from intimidating people by posing as Board of Elections officers.
The group now seems to be operating as United Sovereign Americans. Their website is similar, and they continue to promote claims that the last two elections were rife with fraud. The NY State Board of Elections has refuted every claim, but the group completely ignores their clear explanations and continues to spread conspiracy theories and false data analysis.
The United Sovereign Americans present their goal as ensuring legally-valid elections. They claim that voter rolls contain hundreds of thousands of questionable registrations, and they want to create extra steps for voting. Eddington explained that these extra steps almost directly translate into voter suppression.
“In New York State, we actually have our own John Lewis voting Civil Rights Act that says you cannot suppress votes,”she said. “I encourage everyone to vote. This is your voice,” Eddington summed up. “This is the one time when everyone’s equal, we all get a vote, and if you don’t use your vote, you’re letting someone else speak for you.”
How NYS voting machines deter vote alteration
By Jack Dusenbury-Dalto | Manor Ink
Some voters may have wondered how our in-person voting machines work and how the government and Dominion, the manufacturer of voting machines used in New York State, work to prevent voter fraud and vote manipulation.
SECURE TALLIERS Sullivan County uses Dominion voting machines like this one to record residents’ ballots. Provided photo
Starting with the security of the machines, there is a “protective counter” whose purpose is to record how many times the machine has been operated since it was built. Then there is a “public counter” that measures the total number of people who have voted using the machine for a particular election. This number is then compared to the number of paper ballots associated with that machine.
The machines are also required to have one or more locks. These lock the machines immediately after the polls close or the election is completed. They absolutely secure the voting mechanism and prevent the recording of additional votes. The machines also prevent any device or functionality potentially capable of transmitting or receiving data via the Internet, radio waves or other wireless means from manipulating the vote totals.
The State Board of Elections tests every voting machine and every ballot counting machine to ensure that each functions properly before they may be used in any election in this state. And the Board of Elections requires that before any voting system may be purchased by the state, it must be certified. Systems must meet the requirements of NYS Election Law.
For identity confirmation, the Board of Elections checks the identity of each voter before Election Day through the voter’s provided DMV information – a driver’s license number or a non-driver ID number – or the last four digits of their social security number.