Cloudy skies this evening. A few showers developing late. Low 56F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Cloudy skies this evening. A few showers developing late. Low 56F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%.

In this Cadillac News 2012 file photo shows a Voter Assist Terminal or VAT machine that as ready for use during a Public Accuracy Test. A machine like this one was sold online to a person in Connecticut and state and local officials, including the Michigan State Police, are trying to figure out how it was taken.

In this Cadillac News 2012 file photo shows a Voter Assist Terminal or VAT machine that as ready for use during a Public Accuracy Test. A machine like this one was sold online to a person in Connecticut and state and local officials, including the Michigan State Police, are trying to figure out how it was taken.

CADILLAC — Many questions remain regarding how a man in Connecticut purchased a piece of voting equipment online currently used in a Wexford County township.

CNN reported Thursday that an Uber driver in Ohio bought the Dominion voting machine in an online auction for $7.99 from Goodwill Industries after the machine was dropped off at Goodwill’s thrift store in Cadillac. The Ohio man then sold it for $1,200 to a man in Connecticut who is an election expert, CNN reported. It was then that Michigan officials were alerted to the machine’s whereabouts, according to CNN.

On Friday, Goodwill Northern Michigan Director of Communications Deb Lake said a concern was raised recently about the origin of a touchscreen device sold on its e-commerce platform. She also said Goodwill Northern Michigan is cooperating with authorities on their investigation of the item in question.

“The safety and security of our employees, donors and customers is at the forefront of everything we do,” she said. “Our team processes thousands of donations a week that ultimately generate resources for our food rescue and housing and homeless community programs in Northern Michigan. We appreciate the community’s support.”

When asked if she could elaborate on when the Voter Assist Terminal or VAT machine was donated to the Cadillac store or when it was posted for sale online, Lake said Goodwill Northern Michigan is working with the authorities on their investigation and they had no additional comment on this.

While questions of who took the piece of election equipment and when it was taken remained Friday, one thing was certain — someone gained access to the voting equipment and took it.

With that in mind, the Cadillac News reached out to Wexford County Clerk Alaina Nyman regarding how voting equipment is stored and who has access to it.

Nyman said all counties should make sure their programming vendor or subcontractor is authorized by the voting system vendor to perform programming and is following proper procedures to ensure the security of the programming. She also said only election officials, licensed vendors and accredited voting system test laboratories should have access to the Election Management System.

She said Wexford County tests its machines per Michigan election law and vendors perform routine preventative maintenance on equipment. She also said each local clerk performs a Public Accuracy Test before each election by law.

Vendors or sub-contractors are contractually obligated to perform preventative maintenance every two years on all voting equipment per the state contract, Nyman said.

She also said those who are allowed access first need authorization from either a township or the county clerk, depending on whether it is a county or township piece of equipment. She said it is important this specialized equipment is not accessed by unauthorized personnel because it safeguards the security of programming of election management and voting equipment from outside threats and maintains the integrity of the election process.

On Thursday, Nyman confirmed the VAT machine was not anything that could change a vote and no election data was on it. She also said a person can’t get into the VAT machine without the program cards, and those were all accounted for.

VAT machines aid disabled or handicapped voters fill out their ballots by allowing them to use the equipment’s touchscreen to mark the ballot. Once a voter is finished filling out their ballot using the VAT, it is printed onto a piece of paper and that paper is run through a tabulator. Nyman said the storage of election equipment, Nyman should follow the individual vendor requirements. At a minimum, Nyman said two standards need to be met.

First, when the equipment is not in use, tabulators and accessible voting system devices should be stored in a clean and secure environment. Second, Nyman said when in use, voting system tabulators and accessible voting system devices should be in a facility where the temperature range is between 50 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit and the moisture range should be 10% to 50% relative humidity.

After the missing VAT machine was brought to her attention Wednesday, Nyman said all township clerks were reminded of the requirements to keep equipment secured.

Nyman confirmed Thursday that the VAT had gone missing and law enforcement was investigating how it happened.

Nyman said the missing VAT machine was missing before the recent August Primary, but it was unknown how long before the Aug. 2 primary the equipment went missing.

Colfax Township Clerk Becky Stoddard confirmed the equipment taken was a VAT machine from her township.

Stoddard said she found out the VAT was missing before last month’s primary, but she initially wasn’t concerned because she thought the equipment was still with service technicians. She said she remembered taking the VAT machine into the county for updates on March 28. She also remembered talking to the representative from the county’s election equipment vendor.

Stoddard said it was recommended she bring in the printer that is used in tandem with the VAT and she brought that equipment in to be updated. She said she remembered taking the printer back to the township hall but not the VAT machine.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson emailed a comment to the Cadillac News Thursday afternoon regarding the missing election equipment. She updated that comment later Thursday afternoon.

“We are actively working with law enforcement to investigate allegations of an illegal attempt to sell a voter assist terminal acquired in Michigan. Voter assist terminals are not used to tabulate ballots, but are typically used by voters with disabilities who need assistance marking their ballot privately at polling places,” she said in an updated statement. “While our elections remain secure and safe, we take seriously all violations of election law and will be working with relevant authorities to ensure there are consequences for those who break the law.”

Benson’s office said no additional information would be released regarding the incident on Friday.

Public Information Officer for the Michigan State Police Lt. Derrick Carroll said an inquiry was fielded by the Lansing office regarding the missing machine Wednesday. He said Lansing MSP Public Affairs Manager Shanon Banner confirmed the Cadillac post was investigating a larceny of voting equipment. The investigation, however, is ongoing and they don’t discuss ongoing investigations.

On Friday, Carroll said there was nothing new to report regarding the MSP’s investigation.

FBI Detroit Public Affairs Officer Special Agent Mara Schneider said Thursday she had not heard the bureau was investigating this case but was going to check into it further. On Friday, Schneider said she had no information to provide and could not confirm or deny whether the FBI was involved in the investigation.

Son, brother, husband, father, friend, writer, beekeeper, gamer, beard growing all around good guy. I cover Wexford County government, cops and courts, CAPS, Pine River Area Schools, the Marion area, some sports and any other stories that come my way.

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