Youngkin calls for audit of voting machines in Virginia

Source: The Hill | October 5, 2021 | Julia Manchester

Republican Virginia gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin called for an audit of the state’s voting machines on Monday, saying the process should be carried out as a means of transparency. 

“I think we need to make sure that people trust these voting machines,” Youngkin said during a virtual forum with the Richmond Crusade for Voters.

“And I just think, like, I grew up in a world where you have an audit every year, in businesses you have an audit. So let’s just audit the voting machines, publish it so everybody can see it,” he said. 

Youngkin also called for the Department of Elections to be moved out of the governor’s office, saying it should not be political. 

“I think it should be independent, and a governor, whether it’s me or somebody else, should not be allowed to tinker with the Department of Elections,” he said. 

Youngkin called on voter rolls to be updated, citing a recent update in Newport News, Va., that resulted in 3,000 people being removed because they did not change their addresses and did not vote in the 2018 and 2020 federal elections in Virginia. 

“So let’s just make that a good process, everybody’s going to trust it,” he said. “I do think people showing up with a picture ID is a good thing, and this is not an issue to keep people from voting. It’s just to make sure that folks are who they say they are when they come vote, and people seem to trust that, that seems to be uniformly supported regardless of party.” 

Youngkin has leaned into the issue of election integrity since running in the state’s GOP convention earlier this year, launching an “Election Integrity Taskforce,” which he said is designed to establish legal voting standards in election processes.

His Democratic opponent, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, has worked to tie Youngkin’s stance on voting to former President Trump’s unfounded claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged.

Youngkin distanced himself from Trump over whether he believes Democrats would cheat in the gubernatorial race, saying he believes “we’re going to have a clean, fair election.”

A Youngkin spokesperson told The Hill on Tuesday that nothing about his stance on the issue had changed. 

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