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Rep. David Eastman gave public testimony in support of the ordinance, but also said the ordinance will not solve the issue.
Rep. David Eastman gave public testimony in support of the ordinance, but also said the ordinance will not solve the issue.
Following months of discussion, and a public hearing, the Mat-Su Borough Assembly voted in a 6-1 vote on Tuesday to eliminate any and all voting machines from local elections, and mandated that all tabulation happen via transparent hand counting.
Public comments were swift in defending the ordinance, citing the 2020 national elections in which former President Donald Trump issued claims that there was voter fraud, in part due to some cities and states using Dominion Voting Machines. While investigations and lawsuits failed to support that particular claim, voters across the US and here in the Mat-Su Borough have stated their distrust of utilizing voting machines or tabulators when it comes to local elections.
There was thunderous applause for many people who spoke in favor of moving to hand count versus machine count, while only a few spoke against removing the voting machines.
Among them was Sherry Wilson, stating that she trusts the machines more than people “machines don’t cheat-people cheat.” She went on to say that taking away the machines does not mean hand counts will be any more reliable.
“I want people to be aware that simply having a single-person counting the vote doesn’t necessarily mean accuracy,” Wilson said.
Rep. David Eastman gave public testimony in support of the ordinance, but also said the ordinance will not solve the issue.
“It will making cheating harder. But we have moved beyond the Dominion machines, we have moved beyond the philosophy of elections of ‘just trust us’ to a matter of respect,” Eastman said.
Another speaker, Susan Kay, who stated she has worked in various capacities as a voting poll volunteer, also spoke out against the ordinance.
“The last election I was a poll watcher, so I’ve served in that capacity. I take offense, even when none might have been intended, about the work I’ve done…I feel like we did a good job.”
She then challenged the Assembly, asking who is going to do the counting.
“If we’re going to hand counting, how many people will volunteer to serve in this capacity on Election Day... It’s hard to get anyone to volunteer, and we’re paid. There isn’t enough people in this room to count the ballots in my district, and we only vote 7%. I’m worried how we’re going to count 10,000 ballots in my district. Nobody goes to vote, so how hard is going to be to get people to count?”
Kay went on to say that when people do vote and put their ballots in the machine, it’s locked and people cannot get into the machine, only see how many votes have been cast and to who the votes went to.
After the public hearing was closed, lengthy discussion moved to the ordinance before putting it to a vote.
“This has been the strongest issue in my short time here. I was elected by the people and I’m their voice,” stated Assemblyman Ron Bernier, who brought forth the ordinance, adding, “I’ve talked with many people doctors, pastors, first responders, parents, fellow blue-collar works, and they’ve all given me the same answer. Over and over. They don’t have any faith in the machines or the elections.”
Discussion lingered on timely return of the ballots during Election Day to the precincts but was quickly answered that outlying areas such as Glacier View, Talkeetna, and Trapper Creek have historically returned their ballots in the given time period, often before noon the next day. It was also clarified that the wording is the same in the current ordinance in use.
Assemblyman Tim Hale had prepared an amendment to the ordinance that would give the clerk the ability to run a machine count verification, while still conducting a hand count at the precincts and then have a review board, as an added layer of protection.
“It’s very important because if your 2 counts don’t match, then you count it again, he said using an example that banks often hand count the money before running it through a counting machine to make sure the numbers match.
“Machines are hackable and people are fallible. People are corruptible,” Hale said.
The only Assembly member to vote against the ban was Stephanie Nowers, who asked for a delay in closing the public hearing, stating she didn’t know what the rush is to not do it right, adding that it may be more beneficial to comprehensively work out at a later time and have a more comprehensive discussion about voting procedures with the Borough clerk.
While some in the audience were vocally not pleased with her suggestion and heckled her, Nowers reiterated that she is on the same page, but would like the opportunity to be able to sit down with the community after the November election with information gleaned from it.
“We’re on the same page as far as believing elections are the most integral thing to our democracy…I believe everyone in this room deeply cares, and in some cases, is concerned rightly about where our country is going and the divisiveness and the inability to work through problems and come up with good systems,” she said.
Nowers went on to say that there were 20-plus letters of opposition to the ordinance in the packets, many from poll workers who are concerned about the validity of a hand count.
“We’ve had people in the room who have said that machines can be rigged, but they’re not partisan. It doesn’t care who wins, so when I look at what procedures we have in place, we need to have systems that are secure, that people can trust, and catch people cheating because people will try to cheat whatever way they do and I certainly support that.”
She also voiced concern that if the ordinance were to pass, the Assembly will have to continually make changes or updates, which could erode faith in them from community members.
“We’re going to come back and we’re going to change it again and change it again. At a certain point, I’d be concerned that people are going to start to lose faith in us if we’re continually changing the system.”
When stating his opposition to delay the public hearing, Bernier said, “We’re here to do business, let’s get it done,” which was met with rousing support from the audience.
Assemblywoman Dee McKee, who had initially introduced legislation regarding removal of voting machines, said that while she appreciated Nowers’ position, there was no need to delay the ordinance.
“There’s a time to get it right, and a right time to get it done, and then iron out the details. I think that the most important thing is what we wanted, what we’ve been aiming for all along is to get rid of the things. Let’s do that and then if there are any little glitches that we need to work out, not the big ones, but the little procedural ones will be worked out for some time, because we’re making such a big change I would just like to get it done tonight.”
The upcoming Nov. 8 election will include machine counting, but that will be the last time. The delay is due to the fact that borough elections are only a month away and there was concern that there wouldn’t be enough time to implement the new policy.
The new law requires a hand count of all ballots at the precinct level on election night. It also specifies that poll watchers must be allowed to observe the tabulation process.
The approved ordinance also states that poll watchers must be able to “clearly see and hear all activities taken to hand count the ballots.” This includes the ability to hear discussions among counting officials regarding how a vote should count. Additionally, the ordinance lets poll watchers observe all early vote count locations, and absentee and questioned ballots be hand counted.
The Assembly did agree to a special meeting on January 17, 2023 to discuss details to the new law which will also allow for public opinion and discussion with staff.
The changes will not apply to state or federal elections in the Mat-Su, which are run by the state Division of Elections.
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