Test drive falls short
By: CHRISTOPHER T. EDWARDS 12/14/2005
 The Advance of Bucks County

 
Bucks Officials unveil only two HAVA compliant options
Bucks County Commissioners Charles H. Martin, Sandra A. Miller and James F. Cawley, Esq., county chief operating officer David M. Sanko and solicitor Guy Matthews are in a quandary.
Faced with the imminent, federally mandated replacement of the county's Eisenhower-era, lever voting machines as part of the 2002 Helping Americans Vote Act (or HAVA), they find themselves in the unenviable position of having to a successor to the venerable voting machine.
Many concerned observers are wondering, "Is this a means of progress or regress?"
Others are worried about voting improprieties in the alarming tradition of dangling chad.
Exuding confidence in technology, Martin has provided a voice of reason in an increasingly cacophonous public environment.
"I think any (of a handful of state-approved systems) could do a good job for the county," the commissioner's chairman insisted, reiterating that the voting machine situation is not a political issue but a matter of compliance, convenience and cost.
Cawley, with his law background, is understandably vexed by some of HAVA's demands.
"This is yet another example of how frustrating the process has been," he said during the December 7 bi-monthly commissioners meeting, referring to the January 1, 2006 deadline for having funds "encumbered" to purchase new machines. "We'll do what we have to do (i.e. to ease the transition for Bucks County citizens)."
Inevitably, however, some of the commissioners' constituents are going to be dissatisfied with the new machines - which must be in place before the 2006 mid-May primary elections.
To that end, at Miller's suggestion, several vendors were asked to showcase their systems on December 8 outside the county elections board office in the Doylestown County Courthouse. At 9 a.m., Cawley invited approximately 60 jurors to offer their opinions about the new-fangled machines. Survey sheets, distributed and overseen by the Bucks County League of Women Voters, were available for feedback.
"This is a random jury sampling, and a chance for us to solicit input (about the user-friendliness of the machines)," Miller explained. "It didn't require a special (set up)."
The hastily arranged demonstration, which included only two vendors, Advanced Voting Solutions and Unisys/Accupoll, became a lightning rod for representatives of the Coalition for Voting Integrity.
Picketing outside the building because they were not allowed near the test machines (one county official likened that possibility to "voter intimidation"), members of the coalition were incensed there was no optical scan system from the company ES&S.
ES&S was unable to free an employee to demonstrate its machine, which is favored by many members of the CVI.
"This is pure deception," said one CVI representative, removing a $1.09 convenience store receipt from his pants pocket to draw a reference that he should receive similar paper proof for his upcoming ballot choices.
"They have to start remembering that the vote belongs to the people, not to them," insisted another.
At one point, Martin chose to walk away from a verbal harangue from a disgruntled observer rather than lose his temper.
Later in the day, a gentleman was evicted by security for using profanity toward League of Women Voters president Kip Malloy.
"I was shaken," Malloy said. "He really got in my face. I thought he was going to hit me. I hadn't heard that since I was teaching (at Abington High School). But this was from an adult."
"It was the type of language you might hear from 15- and 16-year olds on the street," Sanko added.
According to Sanko, who was present as Advanced Voting Solutions modeled its 9-pound "WinVote" system and Unisys/Accupoll showed off its larger unit at a table 20 feet away, "If there was an easy answer (that offered compliance and 100 percent reliability), it would have been done by now."
Throughout 2005, Sanko has been the liaison between Pennsylvania Secretary of State Pedro Cortes and the Bucks County Commissioners.
"He collects all the information, and his contacts in state government are very good," Martin said.
The upcoming voting machine replacement will involve 300 polling places, meaning the county will have to purchase between 800 and 2,200 machines. The final number will depend on which system the commissioners choose.
"All three commissioners are in agreement (to wait until all the state- approved options have been examined thoroughly), and they are not all in the same party," Sanko added, a reference to Martin and Cawley's Republican affiliation and Miller's Democratic allegiance.
Both Sanko and Cawley are eager to provide other - better-publicized - opportunities for the public to try out the potential machines.
"From what I heard, the two we had on display were easy to use," Sanko said. "I think the League of Women voters did a great job. We are interested to see if they might be able to take a greater lead (in providing demonstration opportunities at other county locations)."
Added Malloy, "I think a lot of people got a lot out of it."
However, toward the end of the session, around 2 p.m., the Accupoll system crashed and had to be re-booted - which was alarming to all present.
As for ES&S's absence, Sanko said, "We are looking for a contract with a company that will be able to deploy large numbers of people and resources to train us on the new machines."
Martin is not a proponent of making a snap decision, adding, "I think we are all anxious to find out what is the easiest and best way to vote."