Voting

Counties should sign up for plan

Editorial     The Clarion Ledger    19 August 2005

Secretary of State Eric Clark had given Mississippi counties by today to decide if they should take advantage of the state's deal to provide touch-screen computerized voting and, by now, any hesitation about the deal should be gone.

Today's deadline is crucial because the more counties that choose to participate in the statewide purchase, the more machines the state can buy with bulk pricing.

The machines from Diebold Election Systems Inc. are designed to be handicapped accessible, required by federal law. Six counties have machines that meet federal law ? DeSoto, Hinds, Jackson, Lowndes, Noxubee and Rankin ? leaving 76 counties needing to replace outdated equipment.

Earlier this month, Clark arranged a deal with Diebold to purchase paper printers for each machine to address "paper trail" concerns, and Diebold has agreed to make its contract public, to address other questions. "The evidence is overwhelming that they are the most accurate and secure voting machines made anywhere," Clark says.

Counties that opt out must still buy federally approved machines, and federal money will be provided, but by not participating, the state doesn't get as good a price. So, it's in the best interest of taxpayers for counties to opt in.

Those that don't will have some explaining to do.