New touch-screen voting machines present problems in Culpeper, Westmoreland

Some precincts report problems during voting.

Free Lance-Star

Date published: 11/2/2004

The large turnout created problems with new touch-screen voting machines in Culpeper and Westmoreland counties.

Two Unilect voting machines went down at Cardova precinct for about 30 minutes, creating long lines. Those waiting were told that people were voting too fast and machines didn?t have time to reset.

In Westmoreland, all four machines at the 2nd District precinct at Hague were down for an hour while Unilect manager Wout J. Kymmell worked on the problem. At least 75 people waited to vote in a line stretching around the building.

Kymmell eventually managed to get two of the machines working again. He said poll workers, in their haste to speed through the mass of voters, caused crashes by authorizing machines for the next voter before the machines had completed routines for the previous one.

?The poll workers were freaking out at the size of the turnout,? Kymmell said.

No votes were lost by the problems, Kymmell said.

Despite the glitches, voters appeared to like the new computerized machines.

Waiting to vote in Colonial Beach, Rodester Brown, 74, admitted she was a little nervous about using the new system, but said it went well.

?It was easy,? she said. ?It said my vote was cast. I liked it pretty good.?

Caroline County was using touch-screen machines in a presidential election for the first time, but reported no major problems.

Voters were lined up outside the door in the Reedy Church District at the Dawn Progressive Center before the polls opened at 6 a.m., but the new machines made the process go quickly.

?People are surprised to see how simple it is,? said poll worker Sue Dodson, who was showing those waiting in line how to use the machine. ?It makes things go by a lot faster.?

- Free Lance-Star staff reports