Problems early, but Butler voters praise new voting method

Middletown Journal    09 November 2005

?Setting it up was a horror,? said poll worker Dick Gierzak of the new touch screen voting machines.

Butler County election officials agreed. ?I think we had a flurry of calls this morning, but as soon as they got over their fears, everything seemed to go OK,? said Lori Davis, administrative assistant with the Butler County Board of Elections.

Problems with setting up voting machines, late arrivals and a lack of communication forced some Middletown precincts to open late. Voters arriving when polls opened at 6:30 a.m. were forced to wait in line for as much as 15 minutes at some locations. Still, most poll workers reported opening between five and seven minutes late, or without any delay.

Gierzak, who manned his post at the Middletown Community Center Tuesday morning, said better communication with poll workers and Butler County election officials would have made the process run more smoothly. At around 11 a.m., he was fearful of the process on the other side of the day. ?We expect the same thing to happen tonight when we break them down,? he said.

On the other side of the table, most voters Tuesday said they enjoyed their new voting experience.

?Some of the older people said they appreciated the print (on the touch screen) getting larger,? said Cecelia Thompson, who works at the Middletown Community Center. ?And some of the younger people have been saying they thought (the new machines) were cool.?

?I thought it was much easier this time,? said Dan Cox, of Middletown.

Added Tiffany Powell, also of Middletown, ?I was just saying how much easier it was, and probably more accurate. And it was fast.?

For many voters Tuesday, a little education about the new touch screen method went a long way.

?They loved it. There was one complaint this morning, and that?s because he didn?t understand it,? said Grady Love, a poll worker in Trenton. ?But when we explained it to him, and showed him how to do it, he loved it.?

Election ?rovers? work the polls

To assist local voters and poll workers faced with new technology Tuesday, the Butler County Board of Elections released 60 rovers into area communities.

?Their job is just to assist and troubleshoot with the new voting units, and to handle any issues that might arise,? said Lori Davis, administrative assistant with the Butler County Board of Elections.

Each rover was responsible for one or two routes, which include between seven and 15 polling places. Throughout the day Tuesday, the rovers ran their regular routes and responded to complaints at polling places, most of which had problems early, but less as Election Day rolled on.

Paper Trail?

Some voters seemed to be confused by the ?print ballot? option the new voting machines offer ? expecting to walk away with paper receipts of their ions.

Madison Township voter Michael A. Fox said even some poll workers were under the impression that voters could receive receipts. Fox said he?s concerned about what happens to votes if the ?print? option is not chosen.

?If voters choose not to print is there a paper trail or is their vote just vaporized?? Fox said.

Fox, who works with computers for a living, said he wants to make sure everybody has a clear understanding of how the new machines work, so he signed up to be a poll worker next year.

Watch those lines

Carlisle police were called to the polls at Carlisle High School after one candidate continued to cross the line to campaign.

Timothy Humphries, a write-in candidate for the at-large Carlisle City Council seat, was told not to cross a chalk line that was drawn by county poll workers.

State law prohibits campaigning less than 100 feet of a voting site. Usually, small American flags outside a voting location mark the boundaries where campaigners can go.

Humphries persisted and police were called to give him a final warning. A report was not available late Tuesday night from Carlisle police.

Humphries was running against incumbent at-large Councilman Dennis Bowles who tallied 744 votes in unofficial totals from Warren and Montgomery counties. Write-in totals were unavailable late Tuesday night from both counties.