Suffolk Tests New Voting Machines in Southampton Election

The Suffolk County Board of Elections tested new touchscreen voting machines in the March 18 special election to fill a vacant seat on the Southampton Town Board.

The test run comes as the county BOE leadership is deciding whether to replace the current aging electronic voting machines with the new touchscreen devices that some have raised concerns about.

“Nothing but positive feedback so far,” John Alberts, the Democratic commissioner for the Suffolk BOE, told Dan’s Papers.

The Suffolk County Legislature voted 13-1 with three abstentions on March 4 to approve the BOE’s potentially spending of $34 million to purchase the new machines. The machines being tested in the Hamptons election is ExpressVote, manufactured by Nebraska-based Election Systems & Software (ES&S).

The Long Island Progressive Coalition has argued against the county purchasing the machines, which could be rolled out countywide by Election Day if the BOE moves forward.

“The ExpressVote XL would take away your right to review and handle your own ballot,” the group said. “When you physically mark a paper ballot, you can review your ballot yourself to verify your choices. But ballots cast by the ExpressVote XL record and count your vote as a barcode, which you can’t read. By leaving your vote up to the fate of the machine, you have no way to know that your vote was recorded accurately.”

Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst) noted after the legislature approved the funding that the BOE will also be testing other voting machines before the agency decides which ones to purchase.