New voting machines won't cost county
By MARLA PISCIOTTA   Mineral Daily News-Tribune    22 September 2005

By the end of the year the Mineral County Clerk's office will receive the first HAVA voting machine. The federal government will be funding one HAVA touch screen for each of the 35 precincts in the county, plus one for the courthouse that will be used for early voting.

Touchscreen machines cost $3,250 each.

"The county does not have to pay for the HAVA equipment," said Ben Beakes, Chief of Staff for Secretary of State Betty Ireland.

Ireland's office will also be providing a $60,000 optical scan system.

"The bulk of the cost isn't for the actual voting machine, but for the machine that counts ballots," Beakes said. The optical scan system functions like a standardized test - voters indicate their choices by coloring in small indicators next to candidates' names or issues. The ballot is then fed into a machine which scans it and casts/counts the vote at the central count location (the county courthouse).

The voting machines will not cost the county any money the first year. However, after the first year, the county will have to pay for ballots which can be purchased from vendors, which are registered and certified by the state election commission.

Election Systems & Software (ES&S) has been ed to provide West Virginia with the new machines as mandated by the 2002 Federal Help American Vote Act (HAVA).

ES&S is based in Omaha, Neb., and has over 25 years experience in the election system business, according to Ireland's office.

"We are thrilled to have ed a vendor who is committed to working with all county clerks and commissions to make the transition into new voting systems as smooth as possible," said Ireland.

By January 1, 2006, every county in West Virginia is mandated to have these new machines in place. If Mineral County decides to go with the optical scan system voting booth, it will not cost the taxpayers any money, according to Beakes.

Keeping in mind that the county needs one machine for every 200 voters, which is about 200 machines (there are approximately 16,000 voters in Mineral County). With the 36 machines already in place, the Secretary's office will be providing the remainder of the machines needed.

However, there could be some minimal costs depending on what programs etc., that are ed by the county.