Some voters may have wondered how our in-person voting machines work and how the government and Dominion, the manufacturer of voting machines used in New York State, work to prevent voter fraud and vote manipulation.

Starting with the security of the machines, there is a “protective counter” whose purpose is to record how many times the machine has been operated since it was built. Then there is a “public counter” that measures the total number of people who have voted using the machine for a particular election. This number is then compared to the number of paper ballots associated with that machine.

The machines are also required to have one or more locks. These lock the machines immediately after the polls close or the election is completed. They absolutely secure the voting mechanism and prevent the recording of additional votes. The machines also prevent any device or functionality potentially capable of transmitting or receiving data via the Internet, radio waves or other wireless means from manipulating the vote totals.

The State Board of Elections tests every voting machine and every ballot counting machine to ensure that each functions properly before they may be used in any election in this state. And the Board of Elections requires that before any voting system may be purchased by the state, it must be certified. Systems must meet the requirements of NYS Election Law.

For identity confirmation, the Board of Elections checks the identity of each voter before Election Day through the voter’s provided DMV information – a driver’s license number or a non-driver ID number – or the last four digits of their social security number.