State election panel hears pleas for paper records

The Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C.

Advocates want the State Election Commission to purchase new electronic voting machines that produce paper receipts allowing voters to confirm their ballot.

The commission soon will spend $36 million to buy new voting machines for the state. The first machines will replace punch cards in 10 counties.

The South Carolina Progressive Network testified Wednesday at a commission hearing that the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 requires a paper record that is seen, verified and turned in by the voter.

"We have a problem," said Brett Bursey, director of the Progressive Network, which is a coalition of organizations promoting a variety of interests. "South Carolina is getting ready to violate federal law."

The commission's executive director, Marci Andino, disagreed. She said the law requires that the system have a review capability that allows voters to go back into the ballot to see how they voted and to make changes.

State Rep. Joe Neal, D-Hopkins, is sponsoring legislation that would require a unified electronic system. Neal said he would amend it to include a provision that the machines be able to produce paper receipts.

Bursey indicated the network will file a federal lawsuit to block the state's purchase if a voter-verifiable paper receipt feature is not included.