Moultonborough, Hanover To Pilot Ballot-Counting Devices At May Municipal Elections

By InDepth NH

VotingWorks and Election Systems & Software (ES&S) devices have been tested in previous elections.

CONCORD, NH — With the support of the New Hampshire Secretary of State, the towns of Hanover and Moultonborough will pilot ballot-counting devices produced by Election Systems & Software (ES&S) and VotingWorks, respectively, at the May 9th Municipal Elections.

These pilots are the latest that the Ballot Law Commission has conditionally approved as it moves toward approving one or more ballot-counting devices to replace New Hampshire’s aging AccuVote machines.

During their May 9th municipal elections, Hanover will use ballot-counting devices produced by ES&S while Moultonborough will use a VotingWorks device. Representatives from each company and Secretary of State staff will be onsite at both locations to assist.

In March 2023, the town of Winchester piloted an ES&S ballot-counting device at its municipal election. VotingWorks devices were also piloted in Ashland, Newington, and Woodstock during the General Election in November 2022. While post-election audit reports determined the ES&S and VotingWorks devices were successful, both vendors have since made improvements to their devices based on feedback from the Secretary of State’s Office and the Ballot Law Commission.

After the elections, the Secretary of State will assist with onsite, public audits on the devices to ensure their accuracy.

The audits are scheduled as follows:

May 10

12:00 p.m. Hanover – ES&S

Hanover Town Hall

41 South Main St.

Hanover, NH 03755

May 11

8:30 a.m. Moultonborough – VotingWorks

Moultonborough Town Hall

6 Holland St.

Moultonborough, NH 03254

The Secretary of State will present a post-audit report to the Ballot Law Commission at its next meeting.

This story was originally published by InDepth NH.