State elections office says new voting machines needed by January

Associated Press   18 May 2005

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Counties must be ready with federally compliant voting machines by January - four months earlier than expected - in case a special election is needed if a congressional seat opens, a spokesman for Ohio's chief elections officer said Wednesday.

The law requiring states to eliminate punch-card voting set the deadline as the first federal election next year, which the state and county elections boards had expected to mean the May primary.

However, the state has to be ready earlier in case a U.S. Senate or House seat becomes vacant unexpectedly, said Carlo LoParo, spokesman for Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell.

Blackwell hopes most of the state's 88 counties will have new systems in place by November for municipal elections, LoParo said.

Many county elections officials have said they would prefer using the equipment before the May primary because of heavier turnout expected then. The requirement to stop using punch-card machines grew out of problems in the presidential election in Florida in 2000.

The need to get the machines ready so quickly is one reason the state cannot extend its deadline for additional voting machine makers to try to comply with Ohio requirements, including a paper receipt system that allows voters to see their choices before the votes are counted

Election Systems & Software, an Omaha, Neb.-based voting machine maker, asked a Franklin County judge Wednesday to force the state to allow more time for it to develop machines to meet the state's standards.

Only one vendor, North Canton-based Diebold Election Systems, has met both federal and state standards.