Voters find optimal efficiency with optical scan

By Macaul Dinges?? The Western Herald
May 05, 2005

For more than 600 counties in Michigan, mid-April signified the finalization of second-round purchase orders by the state to introduce the optical scan voting system.

Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land announced recently that more than half of the state's counties and townships will have the new machines. The order, totaling $16.7 million, will provide 624 cities and townships in 41 counties with the new equipment.

"The optical scan systems are a critical part in modernizing the voting process," said Ken Silfven, a Secretary of State spokesman.

The optical scan system allows voters to indicate their ballot choices by marking designated areas with a pen or pencil on a paper, which is then ed into electronic tabulators. The tabulators read and store totals while also alerting voters of potential problems that may have been made on the ballots. The ballots are then stored in a bin until the polls close.

Each county in Michigan will receive an optical scan tabulator and election management software. In addition, each jurisdiction will receive one tabulator per precinct. Additional tabulators may be necessary and will be given to larger jurisdictions to help assist with absentee voter ballots and election management software.

Silfven said the optical scan voting systems ensures increased reliability and convenience for voters.

"The technology is easy to explain and understand," he said. "Results are also compiled faster."

In 2002, Michigan's Public Act 91 required the state to a standard, uniformed voting system. The optical scan system was ed by Secretary of State Land in August 2003.

"The system is one of the most trusted systems in the country," Silfven said.

After placing orders last year, 27 counties, including 199 cities and townships in Michigan, have already received the devices. The goal is to have all state voter locations equipped by the 2006 election.

Silfven said the anticipated goal shouldn't be a problem.

Kalamazoo County already used the optical scan voting systems in the August primaries and November elections of 2004.

All of the system purchases are made with federal help stemming from the Help America Vote Act funds. The HAVA is a federal program, established in 2002, to help states replace the outdated punch card voting system.

Detailed information about the optical scan voting devices and the purchasing process can be found at www.michigan.gov/hava.