N.C. senators take up voting machine reform bill

The Associated Press    21 June 2005

RALEIGH, N.C. Senators complained Tuesday about a proposal that would require all voting machines in North Carolina to generate some kind of paper record of each ballot, saying counties may have to pay millions of dollars themselves for equipment upgrades.

A bill before a Senate judiciary subcommittee would require counties to use only three voting systems: optical scan machines, electronic recording machines or paper ballots counted by hand. The electronic machines would have to generate a paper record that allows voters to confirm their choices and provides a backup for counting totals.

The bill follows many recommendations from a legislative commission that met after a Carteret County voting machine lost 4,438 votes for last November's election due to a computer programming error. The lost votes led to delays in determining a winner for two statewide races.

"We've had elections that have been affected because of these machines," said Sen. Austin Allran, R-Catawba, one of the bill's primary sponsors. "You need a paper trail to prove that something went wrong with the machines and to prove the vote."

State elections officials have said it would cost between $65 million to $80 million to upgrade machines in all 100 counties. But no more than $52 million in federal and state election grants are earmarked for those improvements now, said Don Wright, general counsel for the State Board of Elections.

The measure that the panel debated only provides for $600,000, down from an earlier version that had set aside $20 million.

Subcommittee members argued it still leaves the counties paying for voting machines that federal and state money doesn't.

"It's going to be for our counties an unfunded mandate," said Sen. Jerry Tillman, R-Randolph.

Added Sen. Richard Stevens, R-Wake: "We don't know yet what it's going to cost."

With new federal election requirements still yet to be finalized, the amount is enough for now to begin the upgrade process, said Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange, the other bill sponsor.

The bill would give the State Board of Elections a larger role in ensuring that voting machines purchased by counties meet minimum operating standards and comply with federal law.

Voting machine companies also must allow computer programming code for their machines are available for review by political parties and state officials.

Starting in 2006, officials also would perform hand counts in a sampling of paper ballots during elections to ensure electronic and machine counting are accurate. Such samples also would be allowed during recounts.

No vote was taken on the measure, which may be heard soon by a full judiciary committee.