Maryland Counties Score Well In Voting Machine Analysis

More than two-thirds of counties in the U.S. used voting machines for the 2016 election that are over a decade old and in most locations, the same machines will be used in 2018, according to an analysis of voting machines by ProPublica.

In Maryland, 23 counties plus the city of Baltimore have voting machines that were first reported as being used between 2014 and 2016, bucking the national trend.

ProPublica also reviewed state and local budgets nationwide and found that election administration remains a low funding priority. ProPublica aggregated the data to the county level and it shows the median age of used machines in each county.

>>>Click here to read ProPublica’s full analysis on voting machine data.

The country now has a clearer view of Russian meddling in the 2016 election through Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the matter and the two separate investigations in Congress, though the probes are far from over. Going into the 2018 midterm election, a recent poll found that a majority of Americans have little to no faith that the Trump administration will stop foreign government interference, which could undermine public confidence in the elections.

And while foreign government interference is a major issue going into the 2018 midterm elections, outdated voting machines that malfunction or crash during elections present a much more pressing problem that citizens face while actually casting their ballots.

Modern technology becomes outdated a lot faster and functioning machines that are old can cause errors and confusion on election day. ProPublica notes that voting machines aren’t connected to the internet, making them difficult to hack remotely but they are still vulnerable if someone gains access to individual machines.

Many of the machines are nearing their end dates around the same time because funds provided to states to upgrade election equipment after the 2000 Florida recount controversy are running out, ProPublica found. The 2002 Help America Vote Act provided over $3.6 billion to states and territories and established minimum standard for voting systems and election administration.

ProPublica reports that 91 percent of these funds has been spent. Maryland is left with between 1 and 10 percent of the funds. The report also found that only two states, Rhode Island and New Mexico, provided sufficient funds for new voting equipment since 2014. Maryland provided partial funding since 2014.

Here are some findings from ProPublica’s report on why election administration funding remains a challenge:

• A 2014 report cited by ProPublica found that election administrators viewed themselves as the least powerful lobby in state legislatures and often the last to receive funds at the local level
• Elections are viewed as needing periodic and not sustainable funding since they happen only once or twice a year
• Disparity in election financing between counties is one reason why officials say states should be the one to invest in new equipment
• The bipartisan Elections Security Act of 2017 would make available $386 million in unspent grants from the Help America Vote Act of 2002 but little progress has been made in the Senate and the act provides no new funding

Read the full ProPublica report here.

Photo by Patch Editor Emily Leayman