A single Express Vote XL voting machine stood on display in a back corner of the Northampton County Office of Elections and Voter Registration.
Its 32-inch interactive screen offered a mock ballot filled with candidates named Hope S. Lost and Jack O’Lantern. A referendum question asked voters if they should have a three-day weekend.
Don’t be fooled by the goofy names. The machine demonstrated recently is part of the latest generation of voting machines under consideration in Pennsylvania.
Counties across Pennsylvania are considering buying the XL or other next-gen models of voting machines. Millions of taxpayer dollars and the sanctity of the election process are at stake.
In February, Gov. Tom Wolf ordered voting machines replaced ahead of the 2020 elections with models that leave a paper trail.
The current generation of machines is an unlikely target for hackers, who would have to manually access dozens, possibly hundreds of machines, to sway just a countywide race.
But state officials want to put to rest any doubts in light of the assessment by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that Russian hackers tried to access Pennsylvania’s voter database ahead of the 2016 election.
New voting machines must either create a print ballot that gets scanned into a computer system, or create a paper copy of the votes cast. Voters won’t get a receipt of how they voted; election officials will have a paper copy that will allow them to audit digital votes.
There will be considerable financial constraints. So far, just $14.15 million — almost all from Congress — has been allocated to Pennsylvania counties to buy machines.
Doug Hill, executive director of the County Commissioner Association of Pennsylvania, estimated the cost of voting machines statewide will be $125 million.
“That’s a drop in the bucket,” Hill said. “If [the remaining amount] is all local dollars, that’s a significant lift.”
The change is further complicated by the lack of approved machines. Only one machine, thus far, has been OK’d by the state.
Wanda Murren, a spokeswoman for the Department of State, said officials expect to have three more voting machines approved by the end of the year. Given the time crunch, the state has streamlined the certification process, she said.
Voting machines can now be reviewed by the state and federal governments simultaneously, but counties can only buy them if the machines have the backing of both.
The Express Vote XL, the machine tested last week in Northampton County, has not received state certification.
Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure appeared confident that the machine will be approved and be used by county voters soon. Ultimately, the choice is not his — Northampton County’s independent Board of Elections will make the final call.
The machine has voters fill out a ballot on the screen, then prints out a copy of the vote. If the voter confirms the paper copy reflects their vote, the ballot is cast and the paper copy is stored.
The entire ballot is shown on the screen and the voter can switch between English and Spanish and enlarge the type. McClure estimated the county would spend about $3 million to buy 320 machines for 153 precincts.
McClure said the public will have a chance to check out the machines ahead of the 2020 primary.
The logistics of making the switch ahead of the primary pose another concern for counties, said Hill, whose organization advocates for county governments to state officials.
In the next 21 months, counties need the state to certify machines, research what machine they want, buy hundreds of machines that can be delivered early enough so officials can program them, train employees how to use them and then familiarize the public with how they work.
If there are any hiccups, counties would have to find a solution during a presidential election year, when voter turnout is at its highest.
“We really don’t want the story in 2020 to be how we conducted the election. It should only be about the results,” Hill said.
Tim Benyo, Lehigh County’s chief clerk of Registration and Elections, said the county was preparing to replace its 715 machines, which are 12 years old, before Wolf issued his order, so it’s slightly ahead of the game.
Still, he said, the state is dragging its feet in certifying more machines, which could make it difficult to get the voting machines in place for the 2019 general election, a nonpresidential year when turnout would be lower.
“I’ll do everything I can not to implement [the new system] in 2020. My plan is to have it purchased early in [2019] and have it ready for November,” Benyo said. “You’re asking for disaster if you’re introducing a new product ahead of a presidential election. I do not want to do that.”
Hill said CCAP is working on a resolution calling on the governor’s office to push back the voting machine rollout if more machines aren’t certified and more funding made available in time for the 2020 election.
“The anxiety levels about hitting all those marks have increased. It is a discussion we anticipate having with the administration about whether the 2020 election is doable,” he said.
The state appears to be moving in the opposite direction. Murren, the State Department spokeswoman, said officials are considering banning the current crop of machines sooner rather than later.
“The department wants to ensure that Pennsylvania voters are using the most secure, auditable and resilient voting machines available. Setting a target date in 2019 allows the counties to plan for and budget for the new systems and train their poll workers, and it allows the department time to explore all available funding options and effectively prepare and assist the counties,” she said.
