Counties work to meet electronic voting mandate
Saturday, May 21, 2005 1:06 PM CDT

By Megan Hawkins Texarkana Gazette

Touch-screen voting will soon become a reality for counties across the nation.

To comply with the federal Help America Vote Act, enacted in 2002, each polling site must install at least one touch-screen voting device, called a direct read electronic machine, to accommodate handicapped voters before May 23, 2006.

"We need to embrace the changes because it will expand the population of people who can vote," said John Burns, a member of the Miller County Elections Commission.

Charles Daniels, the Arkansas secretary of state, has proposed three possible solutions to replace current voting devices. Kim Gardner, an election coordinator from the Secretary of State's office met with the Miller County and Little River County election commissions on Friday.

 "The state is trying to get the voting uniform for everywhere. I wish they would just leave us alone because we were not having any problems with counting the paper ballots by hand," said Linda Coleman, Little River County clerk.

The state will pay part of the cost for the new equipment depending on prices from vendors. This amount will depend on the number of voters, the size of counties and the number of poll sites.

Solution A suggested by Daniels is a combination of the new devices and the traditional paper ballots. This will total around $299,000. After state aid, it will cost the county about $44,000. It will include 27 DREs and 27 optical scanners to be divided among the 27 poll locations in Miller County.

Solution B is a full system of electronic voting with enough touch screens to accommodate expected voter turnout. The recommended installation by the state is one machine per 200 voters. For Miller County, this will be 54 DREs and one absentee ballot scanner. Total cost is estimated at more than $351,000. The county will be out more than $96,000.

Solution C is one accessible unit per polling site, a central tabulation of paper ballots and a voter education program. This option meets the minimum requirements for HAVA, and the Secretary of State's office will fully fund the estimated cost of $145,000 at no additional expense to the county.

"A lot of people like to keep the paper ballots in option A because you don't have to go with the DRE all at once," Gardner said. "B is a more solid choice because it decreases a lot of cost to the county since it's fully automated. The only paper used would be for absentee ballots."

Robbie Selph, the Miller County election administrator, said counting traditional paper ballots is time-consuming and can lead to discrepancies when some voters make mistakes by marking more than one choice.

Having automated voting may eliminate these errors by asking for verification from the voter before making the vote official, said Larry Dowd, the Miller County Elections Commission chairman.

"Voters should have the opportunity to try this and give feedback because they are the ones paying for it. I think we should have a transitional period to adjust to the new system," Dowd said. "The touch screens should be available for any voter to use if they choose."

The downside to having only touch-screen machines is that some poll sites may not have enough available for the traffic of voters. This means there could be a possible waiting period.

Selph said having a combination of regular paper ballots and a few DREs, could cause discrepancies when totaling vote totals from two types of sources.

"C makes the most sense financially, but does it make the most sense for the voters?"Gardner asked the commission.

Miller County may also receive up to $109,000 toward the purchase of additional DRE units for solutions A or B. Arkansas election commissions will discuss these options and submit their ions to the Secretary of State's office by June 15.

"Whatever we decide at this point is not set in stone because the Secretary of State does not have a contract with any of the vendors yet on any of the voting machines because they don't know specifically how much it will cost yet," Coleman said. "We do have the option of changing our minds after we are given the price it will cost the county."

The counties will be allowed to review the final negotiated price of the new equipment when the procurement process is finished in October. Coleman said the price will determine what system most counties will choose.

Texas counties must also comply with HAVA requirements but are in their own stages of planning. So far, some area county governments have voted to purchase similar systems.

"It will be a learning experience for everyone to comply with HAVA. I think it's putting a hardship on a lot of small counties because some can't afford the changes," said Janice Mitchell, Cass County clerk.

The DRE units will be available for anyone who cannot fill out a paper ballot. Mitchell said schools and cities may need to use this equipment for their elections, but they will not get any state money. She said the county's machines could be contracted out, but they are still in the planning stages of deciding which ones to buy.

"The biggest challenge is going to be educating everyone-the poll workers and the public-that this device is here and available for you to use so don't be afraid of it," said Vallery Watson, the Bowie County elections administrator.

The State of Arkansas and the machine vendor will help develop a training plan to educate the poll workers and voters in each county, according to the Secretary of State's office.

"I'm older, but I'm ready for the machines. With help from poll workers, it will make it easier for voters," said Ramona Flowers, a poll worker since 1992.

The Miller County Election Commission members plan to give demonstrations on the touch-screen units and hold a public forum to discuss the matter further and raise awareness of the issue.