New Mexico voters in the Nov. 4 general election will cast ballots using new voting machines, which have cost the state nearly $12 million over the past two years to purchase and set up. Secretary of State Dianna Duran’s chief of staff Ken Ortiz said county clerks in all 33 counties have received thorough training on the machines in recent months. “Our office is confident that there is an adequate plan in place for election night,” Ortiz told the Journal in an email. A Legislative Finance Committee report released earlier this month raised questions about relying on the machines’ Colorado-based vendor for oversight and troubleshooting.
Among other things, the report found the Secretary of State’s Office had not provided a “risk management” plan – a list of possible problems and ways to avoid them – in connection with the voting machines.
Duran did not directly address the concerns in a response letter to the head of the legislative agency, but said the Secretary of State’s Office has made broad improvements in recent years to its technology and computer systems.
In all, more than 1,700 of the new voting tabulators – there are four different models – have been distributed statewide, with the amount received by each county determined by request levels and type of polling places, Ortiz said.
Full Article: New voting machines set for Nov. 4 election | Albuquerque Journal News.