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Companies pitch new voting machines for N.H., but some think they shouldn’t be used at all – The Boston Globe

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Companies pitch new voting machines for N.H., but some think they shouldn’t be used at all – The Boston Globe


CONCORD, N.H. – New Hampshire is in the market for new voting machines to replace its aging fleet of AccuVote devices. On Wednesday, three companies made their pitch to election workers, state lawmakers, and members of the public.

Also in the large audience were a handful of vocal people who don’t believe voting machines should be used at all.

A few people held signs protesting the machines outside of the Legislative Office Building where the demonstrations were taking place, including Dave Strasser whose sign read “Hand count our ballots.”

Another sign simply read, “Ban voting machines.”

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Voting machines have been the target of certain election conspiracies, falsely claiming that they are connected to the internet or that the equipment was manipulated to steal the 2020 election.

A few anti-voting machine protesters gathered outside the Legislative Office Building ahead of a demonstration as the state considers which machines to approve.Amanda Gokee/Globe Staff

The chair of the Ballot Law Commission, Bradford Cook, told an overflowing room of attendees the commission will decide which devices to approve in the fall. “Nobody has forced any town or city to use (these machines),” he said, adding that those who want to debate it can do so with their local government.

During one of Dominion’s presentations, a man asked whether parts from China were used in the voting devices, and left the session after Jeff Silvestro, the company’s president, responded that there were.

A town moderator intervened when an attendee started questioning the constitutionality of the machines.

“Objection. That is beyond the scope of this session,” said Chris Regan, the town moderator of Durham.

“The questions that were being asked were not pertinent to the decision about whether this is a particularly good machine,” Regan told the Globe in an interview after the demonstration. He said those are questions for the Secretary and State and Legislature, not a voting machine vendor.

Regan said it wasn’t surprising that the demonstration drew those who are critical of voting machines; he’s used to having observers come to watch local elections he presides over since he started working the polls in 2006. “You deal with each situation as it comes up,” he said.

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What he’s looking for in a machine? Regan said he wanted to see how easily he could read the machine’s screen to examine a write-in vote, for example. “What they’re not realizing is that we have put in probably about 14 or 16 hours that day, before we get to this process. And there’s also a limitation of the human body,” he said.

Jeff Silvestro, president of Dominion, demonstrated how his company’s machine works, claiming it’s the most similar to the state’s current AccuVote machines that are around 30 years old.Amanda Gokee/Globe Staff

Attendees submitted feedback about how easy the machines were to use and transport, how much privacy each offered, and the quality of printed results, among other topics. The feedback will be presented to the Ballot Law Commission as it makes a decision.

Here’s what each company pitched. All three touted their security features, like two-factor authentication, and how easy their machines are to use. None of the machines are connected to the internet.

Dominion

  • Highlighted the company’s home court advantage. It is based in Salem, N.H., with 50 percent of its employees in the state.
  • “We’ve had technicians get stranded on the side of the highway get picked up by state police officers in primitive polling places to help clerks and moderators resolve issues,” Silvestro said. “That’s our commitment to the state.”
  • Operates in 5 other states, according to Silvestro.
  • Claims to be the machines that are most similar to current AccuVote machines, to ease the transition to a new machine.
  • $6,000 to buy a machine, includes service for a year, delivery, and testing.
  • $3,500 to rent a machine for a single election.
  • Proprietary software.
  • It takes the machine 5 seconds to process a ballot.

Election Systems & Software

  • Largest voting machine company in the country, claims to be operating in 45 states across the country with a strong presence in New England.
  • Based in Omaha, Nebraska.
  • Has been around for about 45 years.
  • 500 employee company, with about half in Nebraska and the other half in the field.
  • Technicians throughout New England.
  • “We position ourselves all around every state to make sure we’re there if you need us there,” said Joe Passarella, a regional sales manager.
  • $6,900 for the scanner and box plus annual service fee ranging from $250 to $300.
  • Proprietary software.
  • It takes the machine 4 seconds to process a ballot.

VotingWorks

  • Non-profit formed in 2019, newer company and smaller team that includes ex state and local election officials.
  • Headquartered in San Francisco.
  • Operates in 14 jurisdictions in Mississippi.
  • Proposes new voting equipment to help repair the trust some have lost in the Democratic process. “The voting equipment we’ve been using today didn’t get us into this criss, but it’s also not the voting equipment that’s going to get us out,” said Ben Adida, co-founder and executive director.
  • Promises simple, secure, and transparent equipment.
  • Prints results on 11.5 x 8 inch page.
  • Help desk promises no more than a 2 hour wait on questions or to send a technician on site.
  • $7,000 for equipment plus $500 per year for maintenance and software. An additional $500 for programming the machine for an election.
  • Open source code.
  • It takes less than 4 seconds to process a ballot.

Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.

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New Hampshire

Tilton Man Arrested On Stalking, Protective Order Charges: Concord Police Log

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Tilton Man Arrested On Stalking, Protective Order Charges: Concord Police Log


Michael Scott Davis, born 1972, of Concord was arrested on a bench warrant at 8:04 p.m. on June 7 on receiving stolen property-less than $1,000 and credit card fraud-less than $1,000 charges after an incident or investigation at 12 Loudon Road.

Melissa Lee Moscaritolo, born 1977, of Contoocook was arrested at 12:59 p.m. on June 7 on a warrant after an incident or investigation on Horseshoe Pond Lane.

Angela M. Spataro, born 1992, of Concord was arrested at 6:05 p.m. on June 7 on a bench warrant after an incident or investigation on Loudon Road.

Jesse L. Cleasby, born 1985, of Concord received a summons at 1 a.m. on June 7 on a bench warrant after an incident or investigation in Bicentennial Square.

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Katrina Lynn Gilbert, born 1985, of Northfield was arrested at 1:55 p.m. on June 6 on felony receiving stolen property, false statement-resident tax, two unsworn falsification, and two anti-theft laws; possess altered title charges. She was arrested after an incident or investigation on Elm Street.

Grant Boyd Gentzel, 20, of Concord received a summons at 12:05 p.m. on June 6 on a criminal mischief charge after an incident or investigation at Concord Hospital at 250 Pleasant St.

Scott N. Schmid, 38, of Concord was arrested at 12:24 p.m. on June 6 on a bench warrant after an incident or investigation at the Royal Gardens apartment complex.

Dalton J. Stendor, 22, of Frasiers Way in Tilton was arrested on stalking and violation of protective order charges at 11:17 a.m. on June 6. An officer sitting in their cruiser on Sheep Davis Road saw a blue Ford Fusion with an expired inspection sticker near Autumn Drive, an affidavit said. The vehicle was pulled over on the Interstate 393 westbound onramp. A woman who was driving was checked while the officer noticed a man in the passenger front seat. The check found the driver to have protective orders in the computer involving Stendor, the officer wrote. The car was registered to him, too, the report stated. When the officer returned to the car, they accused the man, later identified as Stendor, to be “slumped over with his face partially covered and his hands in his sweatshirt pockets … clearly attempting to hid from my view of him,” the affidavit stated. The officer accused Stendor of “pretending to be asleep” and then waking up and looking at the officer. The officer said Stendor matched his license photo but when asked his name, “Jonathan Burns,” the affidavit said. When asked his birthdate, he said, “I don’t remember, it’s been a really long day,” the officer wrote. Later, the officer accused him of saying, “OK, I’m Dalton,” and after checking his license and confirming the protection order out of Franklin District Court, he was arrested, and taken straight to the county jail.

Do you have a news tip? Please email it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella’s YouTube.com channel or Rumble.com channel. Follow the NH politics Twitter account @NHPatchPolitics for all our campaign coverage.

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New Hampshire

Kyle Petty explains why racing on wet weather tires at New Hampshire made the race better

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Kyle Petty explains why racing on wet weather tires at New Hampshire made the race better


Kyle Petty believes the switch to wet weather tires during last weekend’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway ironically made for some better racing.

The NASCAR Cup Series tried to move up the start time to avoid Mother Nature interfering in the USA Today 301 on Sunday, but it was to no avail, as rain and lightning rolled through the area with 82 laps to go. The red flag came out, and with the way it was down-pouring in Loudon, hope seemed to be lost.

Then, in a twist we haven’t seen really ever in the Cup Series on an oval, the decision was made to put on the wet weather tires, and NASCAR was able to finish the race. Christopher Bell was the major beneficiary, as he was able to take the lead and hold onto it.

Afterwards, Petty elaborated on why the racing at the end of the race proved why wet weather tires can work, believing the final 82 laps plus overtime made for one of the better races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in quite some time.

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“New Hampshire. It never rains in New Hampshire. It always rains in New Hampshire when there’s a NASCAR race, and this weekend was no exception. But I thought the rain and the wet track made it one of the best New Hampshire races that I’ve seen in a long, long time,” Petty explained. “Christopher Bell did a masterful job of maintaining an understanding of what the track was doing, and understanding how he needed to change his positions on the racetrack.

“Now, I go back, It’s a wet weather tire. It is not a rain tire people. We didn’t see any windshield wipers on these cars. It’s a wet weather tire, and I want to throw something at you, in wet conditions, the track gets slick. Slick track means throttle, means driver, means good racing. Let’s just put those three together right there. What we saw though, was these guys were running three to four seconds slower when the rain came and the wet track came than what they were under normal conditions, and it didn’t change the racing. Running slower made the racing better. It went from a two, maybe a three groove racetrack, to a six groove racetrack. Those guys were on the apron with their left sides in the grass almost when the weather came. That’s because that’s what weather tires do. They allow you to run in other places. They allow the racetrack to open up.”

It was once thought NASCAR could only use the wet weather tires at a road course, but Sunday’s action has proven there’s many more possibilities than that. Kyle Petty and the rest of the NASCAR world loved the action, and now it’s only a matter of when, not if we’ll see them again.



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New Hampshire

Nashua Man Arrested On Vermont Bank Robbery Charge On Interstate 93 In New Hampshire

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Nashua Man Arrested On Vermont Bank Robbery Charge On Interstate 93 In New Hampshire


Police in Newport, VT, reported the Passumpsic Savings Bank on Gardner Street was robbed on Monday just before 9:45 a.m. Officers spoke with staffers who stated the suspect, later identified as Barry English, 38, of Nashua, walked up to a teller and passed a note demanding large bills, according to a report. Newport Chief Travis Bingham accused the suspect of threatening staff with a gun, although one was not displayed.

An alert was sent out around 3 p.m. describing the suspect as a white man in his 30s with several tattoos. The suspect left in a black BMW sedan with New Hampshire plates.

During the department’s investigation, Bingham said English was identified as a suspect, and be-on-the-lookout police alerts were sent around the region. About three hours later, Bingham reported that English had been captured by New Hampshire State Police in Plymouth on Interstate 93.

“Newport police would like to thank residents and community members who sent information and helpful tips to the department, which helped identify the individual in question,” Bingham said.

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According to superior court records, English’s criminal history dates back more than two decades.

In 2003, he was accused of robbery-conspiracy and robbery-criminal liability for the conduct of another charge out of Nashua. English pleaded guilty to the charge in July 2004. A year later, he was accused of robbery charges again in Nashua and Manchester and pleaded guilty to some of the charges.

In Keene, in 2010, he was accused of acts prohibited and pleaded guilty of both charges. English was then accused of violation of probation on the charges. In March 2010, a forfeiture hearing was held in Cheshire County Superior Court.

Back in Nashua, in 2012, he was accused of theft and burglary charges, and pleaded guilty to the burglary charge in January 2013. English was sentenced to two to four years in prison, suspended for two years of release, and $2,925 in fines.

In Salem, about six years later, he was charged with three counts of acts prohibited in Salem. He pleaded to a single count, received a two to four year prison sentence, suspended for two years, and $434 in fines, also suspended for two years.

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Do you have a news tip? Please email it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella’s YouTube.com channel or Rumble.com channel. Follow the NH politics Twitter account @NHPatchPolitics for all our campaign coverage.



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