Most voting goes smoothly; A few glitches in primary, not serious
Sun Herald, June 7, 2006
By SHELIA BYRD, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

YAZOO CITY - Marsha Williams was a little nervous about the idea of using new touch-screen voting machines Tuesday, but she said the computerized equipment is an improvement over outdated lever machines.

"That was really neat. It's truly amazing," the 70-year-old Williams said after she cast her ballot at a Yazoo City precinct.

"It's a whole new world in there," said Hannah Kelly as she walked out of the precinct after Williams.

Mississippi voters in most counties used the machines for the first time in Tuesday's Democratic primaries for one U.S. Senate seat and two of Mississippi's four U.S. House seats.

The process went relatively smoothly, except for a few glitches, officials say.

In Leflore and Jackson counties, early voters had to cast paper ballots because the touch-screen machines were not customized for each precinct, said David Blount, spokesman for Secretary of State Eric Clark.

The machines were fixed by Tuesday afternoon, he said.

"It was supposed to be set up correctly and tested. For whatever reason, that didn't happen," Blount said. "The safeguard is that every polling place is required to have paper ballots. No voters should be disenfranchised."

There were a few instances of the machines kicking out the voter's card, preventing people from voting, said poll worker Geraldine Stewart. Those voters were allowed to cast affidavit ballots, Stewart said.

Of Mississippi's 82 counties, 77 have bought new touch-screen machines that meet standards under the Help America Vote Act, a federal law that requires states to replace outdated election equipment. The old punch-card and lever machines in many counties have been replaced by the touch-screen machines made by Diebold.

The five counties that didn't buy the Diebold machines have relatively new voting equipment acceptable under HAVA.

The secretary of state's office conducted an extensive education effort for election officials and voters to make the transition to the machines easier.

"It's not as bad as people thought it would be. I think by the November election, people will have the hang of it," Stewart said.

Blount said there were other minor problems statewide, but mostly the kind associated with any election, such as poll workers arriving late or not having the machines ready when the polls opened.

Nattie "Tip" Owens of Yazoo City didn't bother to learn how to use the new machines. She brought her cousin, Glenda Scott, to fill out her ballot.

"I wasn't planning on experiencing the machine. I'm 79 years old. I don't need no new experience," said Owens.

That sentiment worries the Rev. Robert L. Barton, vice chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee of Yazoo County. Barton believes the machines may have "scared off" some voters who didn't want the deal with the unfamiliar.

He's also worried about the possible problems associated with computers.

"If a hacker comes in and hacks that program, what are we going to do then?" Barton said. "We're praying that everything will work out for us."