New Hampshire’s election officials and Ballot Law Commission say the state picked those three towns because of their relatively small populations as it considers a new machine to replace the state’s aging ballot equipment – and possibly in time for the 2024 elections. The state’s used the current AccuVote model sinceSecretary of State Dave Scanlan also noted that the ballot counting
“We're in a world where trust in voting systems is at an all time low,” he said. “And we think one of the ways to reestablish that trust is to be maximally transparent, to just show everything that's happening.”Open source software is still a relatively new technology in the ballot tabulator industry. Only five counties in Mississippi have already implemented the machines for their elections, and VotingWorks is the only system used in American elections that uses open source software.
“I think one area where states should model New Hampshire is [to] try it on a small scale in a real election,” he said. “Because when technology transitions are all or nothing, when they're these massive cut overs, they are so risky. That slows down the process tremendously. And it means ultimately that we're not deploying better, more secure, simpler voting technology as fast as we could.