A new report that killed a widely used touch-screen voting system Tuesday is sure to spur questions about past election results tabulated in Virginia.
The State Board of Elections scrapped WinVote after election commissioner Edgardo Cortes called the devices’ continued use “an unacceptable risk.”
Botetourt and Roanoke counties both have primaries in June and are the only local jurisdictions that use WinVote machines.
The report on the machines — used in 20 percent of Virginia’s precincts — determined that dated wireless technology made WinVote vulnerable to errors and security breaches.
Enough to swing a close election? Cortes said only that “the integrity of voting data could be compromised.”
Clara Belle Wheeler, vice chair of the SBE, called the findings “eye-opening.”
The decision to dump WinVote didn’t go down well with several local election officials, who branded the board’s action hasty and costly.
“This is a model for unfunded mandates,” complained Richard Herrington, secretary of the Fairfax City Electoral Board. He called the state’s audit “significantly flawed.”
Earlier, Richmond General Registrar Kirk Showalter told Watchdog.org that state investigators failed to contact her office — even though the city is the state’s second biggest user of WinVote.
None of the objections mattered. Fewer than 60 days before the June primaries, all 29 WinVote jurisdictions must find new ways to tally election results.
SBE counsel Kristina Perry Stoney — wife of Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s secretary of the commonwealth and longtime Democratic Party operative Levar Stoney — drafted the order.
Several members of the public argued for a return to paper ballots, and Botetourt County, near Roanoke, announced it would hand-count its June ballots.
Cortes said paper ballots are acceptable under state law, “as long as there is at least one (state-certified) voting machine present” at precincts.
Arlington County plans to borrow voting machines from Loudoun County, another option offered by Cortes. Alternatively, he said, state contracts are in place to expedite the purchase of new equipment.
Among possible new vendors, Austin, Texas-based Hart InterCivic will be considered for state certification Friday.
Georgina Cannan, a state Democratic Party officer, blamed the Republican-controlled General Assembly for the localities’ predicament — as well as any doubts the public may have about the accuracy of upcoming election counts.
Cannan said legislators risked ”alienating millions of Virginians” by rejecting McAuliffe’s $28 million proposal for election equipment.
McAuliffe, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has been a prolific fundraiser for Bill and Hillary Clinton. He has pledged to help carry Virginia for Clinton, who announced her second presidential bid on Sunday.
Charlie Judd, former SBE chairman, expressed concern that the state board previewed the WinVote audit in closed session. “This board has gone into executive session every time I’ve come here,” he said. Participants were instructed not to relate what was said during the meeting.
In recommending the closed session, Cortes advised the board against releasing “details of the security vulnerability” of WinVote machines.
Kenric Ward is a national reporter for Watchdog.org and chief of its Virginia Bureau.
