RI’s Recent Election Failure “Unprecedented,” Says Board of Elections Spokesperson
Monday, September 05, 2022
The recent election machine failure for early voting was “unprecedented,” according to Board of Elections’ spokesperson Chris Hunter.
Never before in election history have voters who properly registered and properly voted had their votes uncounted.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTRhode Island Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea blamed the failure on the Board of Elections and the state’s contractor.
But just days before the failure, Gorbea held a press conference highlighting the technology — the very technology that failed.
"As Secretary of State, I am committed to improving access to the ballot box while securing the integrity of every vote," said Gorbea at a press conference at the United Way. "Using new technology like the ExpressVote and 2-1-1 Voter Information Hotline ensures all Rhode Islanders can safely, surely, and independently make their voices heard this fall."
Gorbea is Rhode Island’s chief election officer.
Latest in Rhode Island
Last week it was uncovered that as many as 55 voters -- trying to vote in Spanish -- received prompts on the screen of the voting machines to vote, in the case of Providence, for mayoral candidates who ran in 2018.
Those voters' ballots will not be counted.
On Friday, Gorbea blamed the Board of Elections and ESS.
Gorbea issued the following statement after the failure became public — two days after she learned of the error:
I am outraged that the state’s voting machine vendor, Election Systems & Software (ES&S), had a programming error that resulted in incorrect candidates being displayed on the Spanish language ExpressVote machine screens in four Rhode Island communities. I am equally appalled that the Board of Elections failed to identify these errors during its statutorily mandated logic and accuracy testing process.
Although I have no legal power over the Rhode Island Board of Elections, I have called for them to conduct a thorough, independent audit of this issue. The Rhode Island Board of Elections needs to explain to the public why this error was not found earlier, what has been done to remedy the situation, and show Rhode Island voters what it has done to certify that this mistake will not happen again.
Growing Chorus of Criticism
Stephanie Beauté, a Democratic candidate for Secretary of State said in a statement to GoLocal, "The Rhode Island Board of Elections failed to properly preview Spanish language ballot for early voting…it had 2018 candidates listed instead of 2022 candidates. Even though this is ultimately the responsibility of the Board of Elections, as Secretary of State, my staff and I would check allballots before they go live. The Rhode Island Board of Elections relied on longtime vendor---mistake."
"This terrible mistake impacted 55 voters, whose votes will NOT be counted. This is a very serious issue and one that never should have happened. As a technology business leader. Checking and double-checking for accuracy is the hallmark of what good companies and technologists do—I would NOT let this mistake happen as Secretary of State,” she added.
State Representative Gregg Amore, also a candidate to replace Gorbea, said in a statement to GoLocal, "Elections are the cornerstone of our democracy and this is unacceptable. Every voting machine should always be tested, and re-tested, for accuracy. There was clearly an issue with the vendor setting up these digital ballots, as well as a breakdown in the testing protocol by the Board of Elections that must be rectified. The relationship with this vendor should also be reevaluated and their contract reviewed. At this time in our nation's history it is imperative that we build confidence in the electoral system and I am committed to doing just that.”
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