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Wexford County Clerk Alaina Nyman looks at one of the county’s vote tabulator that is housed within a vault in the Wexford County Courthouse. On Sept. 1, Nyman confirmed a VAT machine was missing from Colfax Township but it was not anything that could change a vote. 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.
Wexford County Clerk Alaina Nyman looks at one of the county’s vote tabulator that is housed within a vault in the Wexford County Courthouse. On Sept. 1, Nyman confirmed a VAT machine was missing from Colfax Township but it was not anything that could change a vote. 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.
Wexford County Clerk Alaina Nyman is in the room in the Wexford County Courthouse where voting equipment is locked in a vault between elections. On Sept. 1, Nyman confirmed a VAT machine was missing from Colfax Township but it was not anything that could change a vote. 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. The matter is still under investigation.
Wexford County Clerk Alaina Nyman looks at one of the county’s vote tabulator that is housed within a vault in the Wexford County Courthouse. On Sept. 1, Nyman confirmed a VAT machine was missing from Colfax Township but it was not anything that could change a vote. 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.
Wexford County Clerk Alaina Nyman looks at one of the county’s vote tabulator that is housed within a vault in the Wexford County Courthouse. On Sept. 1, Nyman confirmed a VAT machine was missing from Colfax Township but it was not anything that could change a vote. 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.
Wexford County Clerk Alaina Nyman is in the room in the Wexford County Courthouse where voting equipment is locked in a vault between elections. On Sept. 1, Nyman confirmed a VAT machine was missing from Colfax Township but it was not anything that could change a vote. 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. The matter is still under investigation.
Harri Hursti spends most days looking on the internet for election equipment for sale.
He has purchased roughly 200 of them since it became legal. He started buying these machines to learn about them. The goal wasn’t malicious, but rather fact-finding. The purpose was to protect election integrity and not harm it.
So, when he was alerted by a friend to a seller in Ohio with a Dominion voting machine for sale on eBay, was Hursti or his friend going to purchase it? Ultimately, Hursti said he would. It was that purchase that led to a national spotlight put on Wexford County. Before Labor Day weekend it was alleged the machine Hursti bought was possibly stolen.
It is not the first time Hursti has been a part of the election security issue. Hursti was part of an HBO documentary, “Hacking Democracy” in 2006 and he also appeared more recently in the HBO documentary, “Kill Chain: The Cyber War on America’s Elections” in 2020.
When it comes to the idea of the piece of voting equipment being stolen, Hursti said he is not sold on that idea. If ends up being true, he said it will be the first time. While not out of the question, he believes it is unlikely.
He said it is more likely the Voter Assist Terminal or VAT machine was forgotten or left behind at a polling location and that is how it ended up being donated to Goodwill.
CNN reported on Sept. 1 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 Hursti. It was then that Michigan officials were alerted to the machine’s whereabouts.
“Why would it be stolen and then given to Goodwill,” Hursti asked. “That’s why I don’t think it is stolen.”
If it was stolen to be sold, Hursti said it doesn’t make sense to donate it. Hursti said it also doesn’t make sense if someone was trying to learn about the VAT machinery to put it back together to donate.
He said the machine would have to be taken apart piece by piece and the idea that a person would reassemble it rather than throw all the separate parts away doesn’t add up to him. He also has questions on whether the machine is actually from Michigan and Wexford County.
“In the eBay advertising, the seller was from Ohio and it said it came from Colfax County in Michigan. There is no Colfax County, but there are four townships and there also are seven (Colfax Townships) in Ohio,” Hursti said. “The other thing is the machine (that he bought) is used differently in Ohio than it is in Michigan. In Michigan, it is used as a ballot marker and in Ohio, it is used as a voting machine.”
He said the eBay listing, which the Ohio seller used from the listing from Goodwill, showed the machine was missing parts it would have needed to be used in Michigan but not in Ohio. As a result, Hursti said he is uncertain if the missing Wexford County equipment is in the box inside his Connecticut home.
These questions could be answered by opening the box, but it remains sealed. Hursti said he was asked not to, so it could be examined and dusted for prints. So far, no one has come to look at the box or its contents.
Hursti said it is not a problem that election machines can be bought online. It is not hurting election security. In his opinion, it helps to make it better. Independent researchers like him find problems and help to fix them. He writes reports and sends them to state and federal authorities, he said.
Once these machines are possessed by someone you don’t trust, however, Hursti said it has to be replaced. If the chain of custody is broken, he said the voting equipment should never be used again.
“If malware is installed, you can’t clean that machine. You have to throw it away or sell it on eBay,” he said. “You still have the malware and it can reactivate itself. These devices (election equipment) require a good chain of custody and if it is broken, it is permanently no good. The malware could be dormant for a day, or four years, it doesn’t matter. You should never use it (the election equipment) again.”
On Sept. 2, 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 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.
On Sept. 1, 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 on Aug. 31, Nyman said all township clerks were reminded of the requirements to keep equipment secured.
Nyman confirmed on Sept. 1 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 a technician brought the printer back to the township hall on June 7 but not the VAT machine. She also remembered she signed for the printer at that time.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson emailed a comment to the Cadillac News on Sept. 1 regarding the missing election equipment. She updated that comment later that same 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 on Sept. 2 there was no additional information to release and the investigation was ongoing.
Public Information Officer for the Michigan State Police Lt. Derrick Carroll said an inquiry was fielded by the Lansing office regarding the missing machine on Aug. 31. 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 Monday, Carroll said there was nothing new to report regarding the MSP’s investigation.
FBI Detroit Public Affairs Officer Special Agent Mara Schneider said on Sept. 1 she had not heard the bureau was investigating this case but was going to check into it further. On Sept. 2, Schneider said she had no information to provide and could not confirm nor deny whether the FBI was involved in the investigation. Schneider had nothing to update on Monday.
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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