An investigation is underway in Michigan to ascertain how exactly a Wexford County voting machine came into the possession of a Goodwill location that sold the machine online through eBay back in August.
The machine was first purchased by Ohio-based Uber driver Ean Hutchison for $7.99 on Goodwill’s website, which resells tech items on eBay for $1,200 last month.
This voting machine in question was reportedly a terminal utilized in Colfax Township, described as a touchscreen interface used primarily to assist disabled voters with filling out their ballots.
Speaking with CNN about the quick come-up monetarily, Hutchinson detailed how he typically combs through sites like eBay to see if he can find various computer parts and the sort for cheap prices where he knows he can flip them for a “quick profit.”
Hutchinson knew that it was a voting machine although the machine was only listed as “AVALUE TECHNOLOGY Touch Panel SID-15V-Z37-B1R.”
Here’s what Hutchison’s eBay listing read, according to a report from CNN, “Own a piece of history! This voting machine was one of thousands used in the 2020 United States presidential election and included in one of the many lawsuits against Dominion that were thrown out.”
Hutchinson started the bidding at $250 but included an option to skip the auction and purchase it for $1,200.
The seller told CNN, “As far as I was aware, it was a completely legal sale on my end.”
It was purchased for the “Buy It Now” price by Harri Hursti, a Connecticut cybersecurity expert, who was in HBO’s documentary “Kill Chain: The Cyber War on America’s Elections.”
According to Hursti, officials in Michigan didn’t even know the machine was missing until he contacted them. It was supposed to be under lock and key.
“It is shocking that only when we started asking, ‘Does it belong somewhere?’ Only after that, did they realize it had been stolen,” he commented.
NEW: Police investigating after a Michigan voting machine was sold on eBay for $1,200.
w/@CurtDevine @BerrymanKim @MerkelJoe https://t.co/pUBm8PYBWm pic.twitter.com/nxN9JLeCeU
— Donie O’Sullivan (@donie) September 2, 2022
Hursti contacted the Michigan secretary of state’s office before the voting machine was even delivered to his home to report what he had bought. He was told not to open the box until it could be investigated.
I contacted MI authorities even before the machine arrived – and before I even knew for certain if the machine had been used in Michigan. I still do not know that as a fact, because the machine is still in an unoeend box.
— Harri “scofield” Hursti (@HarriHursti) September 2, 2022
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson told CNN that she could assure voters nationwide that the state’s election practices are secure, all evidence to the contrary. She attempted to deflect blame onto Trump supporters who contend that the 2020 presidential election was riddled with voter fraud.
More details of this report from The Gateway Pundit:
Last week, the box containing the Dominion machine arrived at Hursti’s home.
Hursti soon received an email from the Michigan Secretary of State that said the machine was stolen.
“Thank you again for bringing this to our attention,” the email read, according to the CNN report. “We have determined this device originated in one of our jurisdictions. The jurisdiction has now reported the device to law enforcement as stolen.”
The device was from Colfax Township in Wexford County.
“No election data was on it and you can’t get into the machine without the program cards and those were all accounted for,” Wexford County Clerk Alaina Nyman told Cadillac News,
Colfax Township Clerk Becky Stoddard told the outlet that the machine is a VAT, or Voter Assist Terminal, which is used to mark ballots by handicapped voters.
“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 said. “The MSP is investigating and I’m not sure what happened.”
In a tweet about the mystery machine, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson wrote, “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.”
Our elections are and remain safe and secure. We take seriously all violations of election law and will be working with authorities to ensure there are consequences for those who break the law. More here.https://t.co/cixBoMQsJB
— Jocelyn Benson (@JocelynBenson) September 1, 2022
“Our elections are and remain safe and secure. We take seriously all violations of election law and will be working with authorities to ensure there are consequences for those who break the law,” Benson added.
Sources: TheGatewayPundit, Cadillac News, CNN