Commissioners HAVA the blues

BY GLYNIS CRAWFORD SMITH, SPECIAL TO THE HIGHLANDER

 

LLANO COUNTY - An idea of just how big the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) iceberg is turning out to be emerged Friday when County Clerk Bette Sue Hoy sat down in the Llano County Commissioners Court budget session.

Before she was finished, everything from buying more voting machines to closing small voting precincts to construction of a new courthouse annex was on the table.

Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams made one of his whistle stops in Llano April 20, presenting a pledge for a grant $181,000 to help the county implement the Help America Vote Act of 2003. The grant provided $7,000 for education of voters and employees who will use the new mandated electronic voting machines and $174,000 for the equipment.

As Hoy and other county clerks responsible for elections across Texas soon began to realize, state and federal grants do not begin to cover the costs involved. Because at least three machines will be necessary in every polling place and because the machines used in early voting cannot be used on election day, counties will be responsible for paying for machines out of their own pockets.

In Llano County, Hoy estimates equipment cost will be around $250,000, even if several small voting precincts are combined. But the expense doesn't end with an extra $74,000.

These machines have to be maintained. They have to be stored and the storage space has to be close enough for employees to carry on their regular duties while they program machines before elections and download the election information after voting. Some kind of expansion of the old Llano County Library building on the courthouse grounds will be required at the very least.

After a frustrating hour of reviewing dozens of ideas that county officials have been considering for this problem, commissioners actually began to discuss the probability of building a new courthouse annex.

"I'm the last person to suggest solving a problem by borrowing money, but in this case it looks like the only answer," said Llano County Judge R.G. Floyd. "We might as well bite the bullet and do it right."

Floyd asked Precinct 2 Commissioner Henry Parker to begin a survey of how much space other county departments have been needing and how much various construction solutions might cost.

About half of Llano County voters now take advantage of early voting. Nonetheless, the discussion of closing of voting precincts was visibly painful to county commissioners. They finally conceded that the measure was almost inevitable for two reasons. The expense of the voting machines is one reason. The other is the HAVA requirements for handicap accessibility.

The state recommends voting be conducted in county buildings where handicap accessibility is already mandated, but that is clearly impossible in Texas' large rural counties. All across the state they are struggling to identify locations with paved parking lots and wide, ramped entries that could offer voting near citizens' homes.

Llano County voting precincts most likely in jeopardy are Precinct 6 at the American Legion Hall in Kingsland, Precinct 11 in Lone Grove and Precinct 12 at Valley Spring,

"I've been blown away," said Hoy of the tasks now facing her. "I have two incorporation elections in September and if they pass we will turn around and have their city council elections in November. There is another possible election for an Emergency Service District to provide fire protection and a petition is going around for a homestead exemption for the over 65 and handicapped in Llano County."

"I have to implement HAVA by 2006," she continued. "I have to train people, educate voters and be ready for March primaries."

"I thought I could do it without another employee, but now I don't think I can. The County Clerk's Office hasn't had a new employee since 1985 and we need someone who speaks Spanish to help with ballots, with the court and with people who come in for help with records."