As misinformation swirls, many N.H. towns will vote on ballot counting machines

Voters in the town of Milton, N.H., will this week be asked to weigh in on more than 30 different local issues, things like the school budget, the next fire chief and even the type of lightbulbs used in streetlamps.

But another item on Milton's town meeting ballot¹ could reshape the town's election process itself: Residents will decide whether election officials should continue using a ballot counting machine, known as the AccuVote, or revert² to a hand count.

Milton is one of more than a dozen New Hampshire communities voting on vote-counting this town meeting season, after activists³ who question the accuracy and security of the state's ballot counting machines launched a campaign to ditch them.

The activists behind the push to hand-count all ballots⁴ contend, without proof, that the machines can be hacked⁵ or rigged, and their effort follows baseless claims of widespread issues with the 2020 election.

State and local election officials say the AccuVote — the only approved ballot counting machine in New Hampshire — has proven itself reliable at the polls and in an exhaustive outside audit⁶ held last spring.

Towns in New Hampshire decide how they want to count votes. According to the secretary of state's office, 114 communities continue to hand-count, but they represent just about 10% of the state's voters.

For many towns, the decision to use a ballot counting machine comes down to speed, the availability of Election Day workers and expectations of residents.

"We live in an instantaneous world, and everybody seems to want the answer now, or five minutes after polls close," said Chris Jacobs, Milton's town administrator⁷. "If you hand-count, there will be no instantaneous decision."

"We want the machines out"

AccuVotes, which have been in use since the late 1980s, are decidedly low-tech: They plug into the wall for electricity but don't connect to the internet; they rely on memory cards that get programmed before each election by a locally based vendor⁸.

For decades, the machines were widely seen as efficient workhorses of the democratic process. But after the 2020 election, when some supporters of President Donald Trump⁹ began looking for scapegoats¹⁰ to blame his election loss on, the AccuVotes came under fire.

In hearings at the State House and more recently during town deliberative sessions, opponents of the machines have alleged¹¹ they can be hacked, rigged or otherwise compromised. Some Republican lawmakers, backed by the same activists pushing the bans at a town level, have proposed banning the machines statewide.

"It is shocking to me that we would allow machines to wipe away the voices of the citizens of New Hampshire," Brenda Towne, a resident of the town of Stratham, said during public testimony¹² on one such bill earlier this year. "We want the machines out."

There is no evidence the machines have wiped out votes.

Pointing to Windham issue as proof

But many activists point to what happened in the town of Windham in 2020 to justify¹³ their suspicions. There, the AccuVote machines didn't count the ballots correctly on election night for one of the town's legislative¹⁴ races. While a hand recount confirmed that the machines correctly identified the winning candidates, the original machine tally¹⁵ was off by several hundred votes.

An extensive audit conducted by a trio of independent election security experts would later determine that the machines weren't the root cause of the problem. Instead, the auditors¹⁶ found that some of Windham's ballots were folded improperly¹⁷, leaving creases¹⁸ that looked like votes when the ballots were passed through the machines.

But nearly a year later, some activists in New Hampshire — and across the country — refuse to accept that explanation. Windham is one of the communities where activists have successfully petitioned to get a warrant article on the local ballot that would require hand-counting in future elections.

In social media posts and campaign mailers, groups like Hand Count NH and the New Hampshire Voter Integrity Group have made distorted claims about the Windham audit to encourage other communities to ban their machines.

What happened in Windham has also become political fodder¹⁹ for Trump allies seeking to undermine the validity of the 2020 election, like election conspiracy²⁰ theorist Mike Lindell, the MyPillow CEO.

"People in New Hampshire do not want machines," Lindell recently claimed on his internet talk show, as he interviewed one of the local activists campaigning against AccuVote devices.

Lindell also visited Manchester, N.H., last month for an "election security" presentation targeted toward state and local officials, where he amplified²¹ the grassroots campaign that has landed the question on many town ballots this year.

On hand-counted ballots: "It is impossible that errors would not be made"

Getting ahead of misinformation about New Hampshire's vote counting processes is a priority for the state's top election official, Secretary of State Dave Scanlan.

"Given the climate that we have today, we just have to do a better job of being transparent²² and explaining the process and helping²³ people understand that the system that we have is a really really good one," Scanlan said.

Scanlan, who has helped to oversee²⁴ New Hampshire elections for decades, noted²⁵ that most Election Day mistakes aren't caused by machines. He said math errors caused by humans trying to hand-tally lots of ballots are more common.

That risk of a simple tallying²⁶ error isn't lost on Margaret Byrnes, executive director of the New Hampshire Municipal Association. While she said the group doesn't have a formal position on the town ballot initiatives, she cautioned that a sudden transition from machines to a hand count in many larger towns would likely lead to even more errors.

"Imagine these sort of exhausted²⁷ people hand-counting ballot after ballot with 20, 30, 40 questions," Byrnes said. "It is impossible that errors would not be made."

There are steps built into the process to avoid those kinds of errors on the machine side, too. Before every election, communities that use AccuVote machines are required to test them — in public, for anyone to observe — to make sure they're working correctly.

Just a few weeks ago, Jacobs, the Milton administrator, gathered with other town officials and volunteers to test their AccuVote machine inside the local town hall.

The machine, which resembles a large paper shredder, was wheeled out of storage and dusted off. A stack of sample ballots was then fed into the machine in multiple directions, including those with extraneous²⁸ marks and write-in candidates.

As the test wrapped up, Jacobs clicked a button on the AccuVote, signaling that it was time for the machine to start spitting out results.

Over the whir of register tape, Jacobs said he supports people in the town taking a close look at how their elections are managed.

Still, he said, "at this local level, within this community, the process is pure. It is not corrupted²⁹."

But despite being given an opportunity to come inspect the machines during the test run, nobody from the public, including those who mistrust these machines, attended the event.

1 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

2 revert   

v.恢复，复归，回到

参考例句：

• Let us revert to the earlier part of the chapter.让我们回到本章的前面部分。
• Shall we revert to the matter we talked about yesterday?我们接着昨天谈过的问题谈，好吗？

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 hacked   

生气

参考例句：

• I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
• I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。

6 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

7 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

8 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

9 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

10 scapegoats   

n.代人受过的人，替罪羊( scapegoat的名词复数 )v.使成为替罪羊( scapegoat的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They were made the scapegoats for the misfire of the program. 他们成了那个计划失败的替罪羊。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Only some of the guards and a minor hotel employee, chosen as scapegoats, were imprisoned. 只有一些保镖和那个旅馆的小职员当了替罪羊，被关进了监狱。 来自辞典例句

11 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

12 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

13 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

14 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

15 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。

16 auditors   

n.审计员，稽核员( auditor的名词复数 )；（大学课程的）旁听生

参考例句：

• The company has been in litigation with its previous auditors for a full year. 那家公司与前任审计员已打了整整一年的官司。
• a meeting to discuss the annual accounts and the auditors' report thereon 讨论年度报表及其审计报告的会议

17 improperly   

不正确地，不适当地

参考例句：

• Of course it was acting improperly. 这样做就是不对嘛！
• He is trying to improperly influence a witness. 他在试图误导证人。

18 creases   

（使…）起折痕，弄皱( crease的第三人称单数 )； （皮肤）皱起，使起皱纹

参考例句：

• She smoothed the creases out of her skirt. 她把裙子上的皱褶弄平。
• She ironed out all the creases in the shirt. 她熨平了衬衣上的所有皱褶。

19 fodder   

n.草料；炮灰

参考例句：

• Grass mowed and cured for use as fodder.割下来晒干用作饲料的草。
• Guaranteed salt intake, no matter which normal fodder.不管是那一种正常的草料，保证盐的摄取。

20 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

21 amplified   

放大，扩大( amplify的过去式和过去分词 )； 增强； 详述

参考例句：

• He amplified on his remarks with drawings and figures. 他用图表详细地解释了他的话。
• He amplified the whole course of the incident. 他详述了事件的全过程。

22 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

23 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

24 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

25 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

26 tallying   

v.计算，清点( tally的现在分词 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• In 2007 the state set a U.S. record, tallying 141 twisters. 该州在2007年以总计出现了141个龙卷风而创下了一个美国记录。 来自互联网
• We charge extra fee at 100% of the rates of tallying fees. 我们按理货收费率的100%收取附加费。 来自互联网

27 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

28 extraneous   

adj.体外的；外来的；外部的

参考例句：

• I can choose to ignore these extraneous thoughts.我可以选择无视这些外来的想法。
• Reductant from an extraneous source is introduced.外来的还原剂被引进来。

29 corrupted   

（使）败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏

参考例句：

• The body corrupted quite quickly. 尸体很快腐烂了。
• The text was corrupted by careless copyists. 原文因抄写员粗心而有讹误。