Thousands Vote Early as Chenango Computer Hack Threatens Absentee Count
Officials with the New York State Board of Elections report on the first two days of early voting, 422,169 people turned out, some in the rain to cast their ballots.
Some of those voting over the weekend around the state reported waits of four hours or more, mainly downstate.
October 26, on day three, waits at early voting locations in Broome County varied from over two hours to as little as 10 minutes, depending on the time of day and the amount of rain that was falling.
Early Voting in Broome October 27 is from noon to 8 p.m. October 28-30, voting is from noon to 8 p.m. Voting Saturday, October 31 is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and November 1, the final day, voting in Broome County will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Meanwhile, a compromised computer system in a neighboring county is causing concern among several of the government's departments but also with the election.
According to the Associated Press, a hacker attack against Chenango county’s computer system is raising concern that some emailed absentee ballot applications may not be processed.
But the state Board of Elections said October 26 that the overall voting in Chenango County won’t be affected.
The county's board of elections released a public statement last week advising anyone who emailed an absentee ballot application after October 15 to call to verify that it had been received.
In the Associated Press report says Herman Ericksen, the county’s information technology director, said the cyber attack encrypted about 200 county computers and demanded ransom of $450 each to unlock the files. He said the county isn't paying the ransom but is wiping the computers clean and reinstalling software.