An election machine that mysteriously vanished in Wexford County suddenly resurfaced for sale online just before the state’s primary elections, officials revealed Thursday.
The machine, listed for an unknown asking price, was a Voter Assist Terminal, which helps disabled voters cast their ballots and does not have any capability of tabulating votes, according to Michigan officials.
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“We are working with law enforcement to investigate allegations of an illegal attempt to sell a voter assist terminal acquired in Wexford County, MI. These terminals do not tabulate ballots, they are for voters who need help marking their ballot privately at polling places,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel tweeted.
ALERT: We are working with law enforcement to investigate allegations of an illegal attempt to sell a voter assist terminal acquired in Wexford County, MI. These terminals do not tabulate ballots, they are for voters who need help marking their ballot privately at polling places.
— Jocelyn Benson (@JocelynBenson) September 1, 2022
Using a VAT machine, voters can select their preferred candidates via a touchscreen, and the machine will then print out a ballot, Cadillac News reported. Authorities are not sure how long the machine has been missing, but they believe the theft took place before the Aug. 2 Michigan primary elections, according to Wexford County Clerk Alaina Nyman.
The missing machine, which originated from Colfax, Michigan, was handed over to the county in March to receive updates, Nyman noted. She was on vacation during that time but believed the machines had all been accounted for and returned to the town, she told the news outlet.
Colfax Township Clerk Becky Stoddard heard that the VAT was up for sale on auction website Goodwill, but she cautioned that the report was not yet verified, per the news outlet.
“It is a tablet for handicapped voters. No election data is on it. It was never used by the public and I’m the only person who voted on it in six or seven years,” Stoddard told the outlet. “The MSP is investigating and I’m not sure what happened.”
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Stoddard underscored that the machines are expensive and vowed that the town would tighten its procedures surrounding election machine maintenance.
“We are going to do things differently and will sign things in and out,” she said, per the outlet.
