Suffolk County OKs purchase of new voting machines
The county Board of Elections is considering the purchase of the ExpressVote XL voting machine, seen displayed at City Hall in Philadelphia in October 2019. Credit: AP/Matt Rourke
The Suffolk County Legislature on Tuesday allocated nearly $35 million to the county’s Board of Elections to purchase new voting machines, replacing ones officials say went beyond their shelf life.
The approval came over frequent objections in recent months from members of various civic groups who have argued the new machines under consideration are unreliable, too costly and inefficient.
Legislators approved the resolution in a 13-1 vote with three legislators abstaining — Legis. Ann Welker (D-Southampton), Legis. Rebecca Sanin (D-Huntington Station) and Legis. Robert Trotta (R-Fort Salonga). One member was absent.
Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst) said the funding does not dictate which machine will be purchased and that decision falls to the county Board of Elections.
Last spring, the Board of Elections commissioners outlined to legislators why new machines were needed.
Betty Manzella, the Republican BOE commissioner, said current machines are prone to ballot jams and mechanical issues and the BOE needed to replace “14-year-old tabulators that are beyond their useful life of 8 to 12 years.”
Manzella told lawmakers last year the state Board of Elections dictates which machines the county can pick to purchase. John Alberts, the Democratic commissioner, said the funding gives the BOE the option to select “which company is the best to go with.”
Legis. Dominick Thorne (R-East Patchogue), who worked six years as a training coordinator at the Board of Elections, said Tuesday it’s “wildly important that both sides agree that the old voting machines … have to be replaced.”
While officials said the Board of Elections has not yet finalized a decision, documents obtained by Newsday through the Freedom Information Act show the Board of Elections has a keen interest in the controversial touch-screen ExpressVote XL model by Election Systems and Software. A voting machine by Dominion Voting Systems is also under consideration, officials said.
In 2023, Common Cause New York, part of a national advocacy organization, and The Black Institute, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit, sued the state Board of Elections over certification of what they described as "flawed" ExpressVote XL machines. The suit was dismissed last spring and is on appeal.
The Board of Elections this month will test the ExpressVote XL machines in a special election to fill a Southampton Town Board seat. Early voting begins Saturday before the election on March 18.
“This is an opportunity for these machines to be vetted,” Welker said.
Opponents, however, said the special election with only one race wouldn’t be a true indicator of how the machines would perform across a general election.
Legis. Steven Englebright (D-Setauket) voted against the resolution, citing the cost and technology he said he believes will be outdated by the time the bond is paid.
“The cost is just a really big number,” he said in an earlier interview. “And we become dependent upon the vendor, the manufacturer in every way.”
ES&S sent the BOE commissioners a document last May to address "fabricated concerns" related to its voting machines, saying "audits have shown the ExpressVote XL to be 100% accurate in post-election audits." The company says the machines "have an extremely fast voting experience" and can be a "less expensive option over time" compared to systems that require a hand-marked ballot.
Susan Greenhalgh, a senior adviser on election security for the left-leaning group Free Speech for People, has urged lawmakers to avoid funding the ExpressVote XL machines.
"Not only do the ExpressVote XLs have a long record of failures and malfunctions, but they will cost more than twice what it would cost to simply replace our aging tabulators with newer systems while maintaining our hand-marked paper ballots, which are recognized as the gold standard for elections," she told Newsday.
Lulu Friesdat, co-founder of Smart Elections, a nonpartisan group that advocates for fair and accessible voting, urged legislators to table the resolution and “explore your other options.”
Royal Reynolds, a member of Project Civica, an organization whose mission is “to encourage civic action and government oversight to restore liberty,” has frequently urged legislators to vote against funding new machines.
“I don’t know why they’re doing this,” he said in an interview. “Hand-marked paper ballots. Keep it simple.”
Alberts said in an email Wednesday it was too early to say whether any new voting system would be used in the June primary "as there are many factors to consider." The BOE could potentially conduct additional pilots, he said.
He confirmed the BOE intends to use a new voting system in the November elections.
"The Suffolk Board has and continues to thoroughly vet this voting system and that includes speaking with election officials from other jurisdictions that use these machines to ascertain how they perform," he wrote.
Correction: Two Democrats and one Republican on the Suffolk County Legislature abstained on a vote to approve funding for new voting machines. An earlier version misstated the number of Democrats and Republicans who abstained.
The Suffolk County Legislature on Tuesday allocated nearly $35 million to the county’s Board of Elections to purchase new voting machines, replacing ones officials say went beyond their shelf life.
The approval came over frequent objections in recent months from members of various civic groups who have argued the new machines under consideration are unreliable, too costly and inefficient.
Legislators approved the resolution in a 13-1 vote with three legislators abstaining — Legis. Ann Welker (D-Southampton), Legis. Rebecca Sanin (D-Huntington Station) and Legis. Robert Trotta (R-Fort Salonga). One member was absent.
Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst) said the funding does not dictate which machine will be purchased and that decision falls to the county Board of Elections.
Last spring, the Board of Elections commissioners outlined to legislators why new machines were needed.
Betty Manzella, the Republican BOE commissioner, said current machines are prone to ballot jams and mechanical issues and the BOE needed to replace “14-year-old tabulators that are beyond their useful life of 8 to 12 years.”
Manzella told lawmakers last year the state Board of Elections dictates which machines the county can pick to purchase. John Alberts, the Democratic commissioner, said the funding gives the BOE the option to select “which company is the best to go with.”
Legis. Dominick Thorne (R-East Patchogue), who worked six years as a training coordinator at the Board of Elections, said Tuesday it’s “wildly important that both sides agree that the old voting machines … have to be replaced.”
While officials said the Board of Elections has not yet finalized a decision, documents obtained by Newsday through the Freedom Information Act show the Board of Elections has a keen interest in the controversial touch-screen ExpressVote XL model by Election Systems and Software. A voting machine by Dominion Voting Systems is also under consideration, officials said.
In 2023, Common Cause New York, part of a national advocacy organization, and The Black Institute, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit, sued the state Board of Elections over certification of what they described as "flawed" ExpressVote XL machines. The suit was dismissed last spring and is on appeal.
The Board of Elections this month will test the ExpressVote XL machines in a special election to fill a Southampton Town Board seat. Early voting begins Saturday before the election on March 18.
“This is an opportunity for these machines to be vetted,” Welker said.
Opponents, however, said the special election with only one race wouldn’t be a true indicator of how the machines would perform across a general election.
Legis. Steven Englebright (D-Setauket) voted against the resolution, citing the cost and technology he said he believes will be outdated by the time the bond is paid.
“The cost is just a really big number,” he said in an earlier interview. “And we become dependent upon the vendor, the manufacturer in every way.”
ES&S sent the BOE commissioners a document last May to address "fabricated concerns" related to its voting machines, saying "audits have shown the ExpressVote XL to be 100% accurate in post-election audits." The company says the machines "have an extremely fast voting experience" and can be a "less expensive option over time" compared to systems that require a hand-marked ballot.
Susan Greenhalgh, a senior adviser on election security for the left-leaning group Free Speech for People, has urged lawmakers to avoid funding the ExpressVote XL machines.
"Not only do the ExpressVote XLs have a long record of failures and malfunctions, but they will cost more than twice what it would cost to simply replace our aging tabulators with newer systems while maintaining our hand-marked paper ballots, which are recognized as the gold standard for elections," she told Newsday.
Lulu Friesdat, co-founder of Smart Elections, a nonpartisan group that advocates for fair and accessible voting, urged legislators to table the resolution and “explore your other options.”
Royal Reynolds, a member of Project Civica, an organization whose mission is “to encourage civic action and government oversight to restore liberty,” has frequently urged legislators to vote against funding new machines.
“I don’t know why they’re doing this,” he said in an interview. “Hand-marked paper ballots. Keep it simple.”
Alberts said in an email Wednesday it was too early to say whether any new voting system would be used in the June primary "as there are many factors to consider." The BOE could potentially conduct additional pilots, he said.
He confirmed the BOE intends to use a new voting system in the November elections.
"The Suffolk Board has and continues to thoroughly vet this voting system and that includes speaking with election officials from other jurisdictions that use these machines to ascertain how they perform," he wrote.
Correction: Two Democrats and one Republican on the Suffolk County Legislature abstained on a vote to approve funding for new voting machines. An earlier version misstated the number of Democrats and Republicans who abstained.
Joe Werkmeister covers the towns of Southampton, East Hampton and Shelter Island. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and previously worked as the editor of two North Fork community newspapers.
This is a modal window.
Air Jordans turn 40 ... Fitness Fix: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ... LI works: Subtle Tea Company ... Here's a look at some of the exclusive stories you may have missed this week on NewsdayTV.
Top Stories
This is a modal window.
Air Jordans turn 40 ... Fitness Fix: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ... LI works: Subtle Tea Company ... Here's a look at some of the exclusive stories you may have missed this week on NewsdayTV.
