As the Maryland State Board of Elections (SBE) attempts to dispel rumors of so-called “vote flipping” on ballot marking devices, I find myself reflecting on my own experience with voting machines a few elections ago. Despite the board’s assurances that no vote switching occurs and that every machine undergoes extensive testing, I have personally witnessed a different reality.
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The Maryland State Board of Elections has recently released a statement that ballot marking devices do not alter or switch votes. Claims suggesting otherwise have appeared in previous elections but have not been substantiated by any evidence.
During one election a decade ago, as I went to select my candidate on a touch-screen voting machine, my vote repeatedly showed up under another candidate’s name. After several attempts to correct it, I realized the machine was simply not registering my choice correctly, likely due to a miscalibrated touch screen. When I alerted an election worker, I was advised to “keep pressing different parts of the screen until it works.” To my surprise, the machine remained in service after I walked away. I was offered no method of lodging an official complaint that the machine was malfunctioning. Since Maryland has started offering paper ballots again, I haven’t used another touchscreen voting machine since.
While this experience predates the current ballot marking devices, it nonetheless casts doubt against the SBE’s assurances. If machines back then could easily encounter issues without immediate correction or removal, why should we believe every machine now in use is flawless? The technology may have changed, but my skepticism remains. Voting is a fundamental right that deserves our highest standards, and confidence in the process requires more than just statements from election officials.
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Fortunately voters are now given the opportunity to review their selections both on the screen and on a printed paper ballot before casting it for tabulation, an option that was not offered prior to the 2016 election. However, I do wonder how many voters do not carefully review their printed ballots, after waiting in line for what was possibly a long time and looking forward to leaving the polling location.
The SBE’s dismissal of current complaints as “unfounded” misses the point. Voters are not claiming to be experts on voting technology; they are sharing experiences that don’t align with what the board says should be happening. While it may be inconvenient for officials, every complaint should be fully examined, not summarily dismissed.
Opinion article by Ken Buckler, President of Radio Free Hub City. All opinions his own, and do not reflect those of our clients or sponsors.
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