New Yorkers tend to feel secure in our blue bubble. We\u2019ve watched federal agents use false allegations to seize ballots in Georgia and Arizona, a ballot seizure by a Republican running for governor in California, and an FBI review of Nevada voter rolls. We\u2019ve heard Steve Bannon say ICE agents in airports is a good \u201ctest run\u201d for the midterms.<\/p>\n
So how safe are we? And why hasn\u2019t the New York Legislature done even more to ensure our election integrity?<\/p>\n
As\u00a0you\u00a0read this, a dozen bills to protect our elections are languishing in committees, and too many legislators are putting their trust in new voting machines\u2019 high tech. All this despite the sale of Dominion Voting Systems, used in some counties, to Liberty Vote<\/a>, which is run by a former GOP\u00a0election\u00a0official who described the sale as a \u201cbold and historic move to transform and improve\u00a0election\u00a0integrity\u00a0in America.\u201d<\/p>\n Other counties \u2014 Monroe and Suffolk \u2014 have purchased the Election Systems and Software XL machines<\/a>, whose ownership is sheathed in silence and whose touchscreen technology has been criticized by cybersecurity experts for years. Taxpayers\u2019 expense for these machines could run into many millions, yet more counties are beguiled by the technology.<\/p>\n Plus, since 2025 the Trump administration has laid off a majority of employees at the Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA)<\/a>, responsible for helping state\u00a0election\u00a0officials block internet attackers domestically and worldwide from influencing our elections.<\/p>\n Chilling, right?<\/p>\n Sadly, New Yorker voters are unaware they can affect change and move crucial bills on election protections out of committee and into the Legislature for a vote. Legislators do\u00a0respond if there\u2019s enough pressure from voters.<\/p>\n Here are some specifics to help navigate this dilemma.<\/p>\n The gold standard for election integrity is having ballots hand-marked by the voter. Only hand-marked paper ballots are genuinely voter-verified. As Susan Lerner, executive director with Common Cause NY has\u00a0warned<\/a>, \u201cAlthough it seems counter-intuitive, actually, the most advanced and secure way to vote is for voters to be able to mark paper.\u201d<\/p>\n