Voting in America has gone digital. Machines now take the place of traditional paper ballots, evidence that technology continues to evolve, however, this could pose a significant challenge to the United States as a whole.
Voter security is becoming an increasingly large issue, the 2016 election and the 2018 midterm election in Broward county, Florida are examples of this.
In July, the House Administration Committee released a report labeling New Jersey as one of the 5 least secure states regarding voter security. In order to take a closer look, the Mercer County Clerk, Paula Sollami Covello and Deputy Clerk, Walker Worthy, were interviewed on the subject.
Walker Worthy began by discussing the three offices in charge of Mercer County elections, the Clerk’s office, the Superintendent of Elections’ office, and the Board of Elections. After which, the subject of machines with paper backups surfaced.
Machines with paper backups allow for a post election audit to ensure every vote was counted accurately, it is generally agreed that a paper trail is needed to ensure greater security. “None of New Jersey has a paper backup, but one thing I will tell you is that we’re doing a pilot program in Mercer County on December 11th for a special school election, and we’re actually going to do half the town of Princeton with the paper ballot backup,” Covello said. “We feel that it is very important but we don’t have it at this time”.
The main reason for the lack of a paper backup is the age of the voting machines themselves. Covello’s best estimation of the machines’ age was that “...they were purchased 14 or 15 years ago and at the time they did not see a need for a paper trail, and computers have changed dramatically since then…”. Covello specified that after the importance for a paper trail was recognized, there was no money to replace the machines.
Robert Lester, the Supervising Electronic Technician of the Mercer County Office of the Superintendent of Elections, later confirmed that the machines were purchased in 2004, making the machines 14 years old.
This next election may be different, Covello and Worthy stated that New Jersey received a grant from the Help America Vote Act, which is being used to pilot the new machines. Interview time 14:00.