Officials reassure NY voters of election security amid ballots set on fire in Oregon, Washington state
Hochul told voters that Boards of Elections, cybersecurity officials and law enforcement are prepared to keep the election running smooth throughout any disturbances including weather related.
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Gov. Kathy Hochul assured voters of the steps being taken across the state to ensure the 2024 elections run smoothly, including warning against the dangers of artificial intelligence and inference attempts.
It comes after shocking images of a ballot box being burned with hundreds of ballots damaged in Oregon and Washington state, according to the AP.
Hochul told voters that Boards of Elections, cybersecurity officials and law enforcement are prepared to keep the election running smooth throughout any disturbances including weather related.
"They have been hard at work looking at every scenario for this election - they have gamed them out in close coordination with boards of elections and are ready to support in any way necessary," Gov. Hochul said.
The year 2024 would mark the largest scale Early Voting program to date for NYC, as well as the first implementation of so-called "no excuse" mail in voting, which according to the AP was the kind of container targeted in the ballot burning incident.
The NYC Board of Election declined to comment on a News 12 inquiry on what steps were being taken to secure such boxes across the city. However, director Michael J Ryan spoke to News 12 last week and detailed the extensive security of the ballot boxes when they will be moved from a polling site back to the BOE warehouses for counting.
"On election night, you would see a line of police vehicles escorting those ballot boxes from outside the building dropping that material off, NYC police department owing to a very old law takes custody of those ballots and delivers them to the Board of Elections," he said.
In a statement to News 12 the U.S. Postal Service, the agency tasked with delivering mail in ballots, said "The U.S. Postal Service and its law enforcement arm, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, are committed to the secure, timely delivery of the nation’s Election Mail."
Since its start on Saturday, Early Voting numbers have been breaking records,with increased volume compared to 2022 and 2020 election cycles.
