San Luis Obispo County will have a new voting counting machine for the upcoming election, but it’s not without backlash from some members of the community.
The County Board of Supervisors approved a new five-year contract with Dominion Voting Systems this week, despite more than a dozen people expressing concerns about the possibility of fraud from hackers. They would rather have ballots counted by hand.
County Clerk-Recorder Elaina Cano said the Dominion machines go through a certification process before they are used and the evidence people presented against Dominion systems has been debunked.
“I would just really encourage folks that are still a little bit wary of all of this and not sure is to please go to the source— go to the people that could really answer your question,” Cano said.
The new counting machine has a high-speed scanner that will replace three of the county’s older Dominion systems. Cano said it was funded through grants and will help process votes more efficiently. She also said hand counting votes in a county the size of San Luis Obispo is illegal.
This piece was produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
