New voting machines to make official debut

By TUCKER LYON, The Times and Democrat?? 03 May 2005

Consider it a sort of dress rehearsal for the new touchscreen voting system that will be used throughout Orangeburg County in various municipal and school board elections later this year.

Springfield and Cordova voters going to the polls Tuesday for special municipal elections will be the very first in Orangeburg County to "officially" use the new $1 million Votronic touchscreen voting system.

The new machines had been used earlier for Claflin University's student government association elections.

"We will be using the new touchscreen voting system for both towns, so this will be our first official 'official' election held in Orangeburg County," said Earl Whalen, the county's director of elections and voter registration. "Claflin University's SGA really doesn't count as official by law."

Whalen estimated the costs for both municipal elections to be about $500.

"We have cut out the printing of ballots expense to a minimum, as we print the absentee and provisional ballots in-house," he said. "Therefore, the real expenses will involve the T&D advertisements and poll workers."

Poll worker costs are expected to run $380 per town, plus another $100 each for the required newspaper advertising.

Town halls in Springfield and Cordova, as well as the county voter registration office, will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

"Shanell Blewer will be in Cordova to get them started and closed with the new system, and I will be in Springfield doing the same," said Whalen. "Margaret Berry will be in the (voter registration) office taking calls and seeing if people need a replacement voter registration card."

In Springfield, voters are going to the polls for the third time in 18 months to elect a Town Council member.

Former Mayor Richard "Dickie" Phillips and Lydia Lackey, a three-time candidate who last ran for mayor in 2001, are facing off in the special non-partisan election.

The winner will fill the unexpired two-year term of former Councilman Sam Carter, who resigned in February. Carter, whose term expires in November, had defeated Eddie Lee in a special October 2004 election. That election was necessary after the resignation of Bill Brannen, who had resigned after six months in office.

Both candidates are retirees who are active in town affairs. Despite the turnover in council members, neither candidate cites any particular issues or areas of concern.

On the question of the town purchasing water from the Silver Springs Water District as an alternate source, Lackey says don't fix a the wheel if isn't not broken; while Phillips says the issue must be decided by a town referendum, not council.

With a population of a little over 500, Springfield has 397 registered voters. Of those, 241 are white, 150 are black and 6 are designated "other."

In Cordova, there are no official candidates in the special nonpartisan municipal election that has already been postponed twice. Therefore, a write-in candidate will be chosen.

"It's as easy as 1-2-3 for the voters to use the new system, even if they have to write or type in a candidate in Cordova," Whalen said. "Voters that go to the polls in Cordova must choose the write-in button on the screen when prompted. At that point, a keyboard will appear the (the voter) will type in the full name, first and last, of the person of their choice.

"All write-ins will be compiled that evening and, of course, the person with the most write-ins that is qualified ? meaning a registered voter and a resident who wants the job ? will be the nominee."

Cordova has 94 registered voters, all white.