Voting machine decision to wait
Bucks board finds it doesn't need to make choice by year's end.
By Hal Marcovitz     The Morning Call     20 December 2005

Bucks County commissioners will wait at least until January to decide on buying new voting machines, giving proponents of ''voter verified paper ballots'' a few more weeks to convince them that the new machines should provide hard-copy backups to electronic ballots.

Commissioner James F. Cawley, chairman of the county Elections Board, said Monday the commissioners have decided to accept the state government's interpretation of the U.S. Help America Vote Act, which suggests that a contract for new voting machines does not have to be awarded by the end of the year. 
 
The commissioners believed they had until Dec. 31 to a vendor, but were advised earlier this month by the state Elections Bureau that the deadline could be extended.

Instead, Cawley said, the commissioners plan to adopt a resolution Wednesday committing the $3 million grant they received under HAVA to buying the new machines and having them ready by the spring primary. Commissioners also expect to spend as much as $7 million in county funds on the devices.

Cawley said the resolution would give the commissioners a few more weeks to make a decision. He said they plan to use the extra time to schedule demonstrations of the various machines, giving voters an opportunity to try them out.

''We want to make it as convenient as possible for voters to use the machines and get their input,'' he said.

A hastily arranged demonstration in the Bucks County Courthouse on Dec. 8 fell flat when only two manufacturers showed up with sample machines. Both manufacturers demonstrated touch-screen devices, which enable voters to cast ballots by touching names that appear on computer screens. Manufacturers of ''full-face'' machines, which feature rows of candidates' names that are ed by pressing buttons, and optical scan devices, which require voters to blacken circles on cards, were no-shows at the event.

The lack of an optical scan vendor at the demonstration raised complaints from the Bucks County Coalition for Voting Integrity, which favors that method because it creates a paper trail of the votes cast. Touch-screen and full-face machines feature hard-copy records of votes as optional components that are not required under HAVA or state law.

Cawley acknowledged that some of the vendors were not given sufficient notice for the demonstration. He promised that the next demonstrations would be better planned. He also said the events will be held in the evening and away from the courthouse.

''We want to take them on the road,'' he said.

During the Dec. 8 event, several dozen voters ? most of them people serving jury duty ? tried out the two touch-screen devices on display. Afterward they were asked to fill out questionnaires.

Cawley said the questionnaires were collected but they will not be read until after the optical scan and full-face devices have also been demonstrated for voters.

''We didn't want to look at partial data,'' said Cawley. ''We want to mix the results in with the information we get from the other forums.''

Under HAVA, which was passed in the wake of the 2000 presidential election, commissioners must replace the county's Eisenhower-era lever machines because they are not accessible to the handicapped. Also, the machines have no way of alerting voters of an ''under-vote,'' which occurs when voters fail to cast ballots in all races.

For months, the commissioners have been pressured by the coalition to a system that creates a paper record of votes. Mary Ann Gould, founder of the coalition, said her group plans to use the extra time to continue pressing its case. In addition, Gould said, the coalition expects to file a lawsuit in federal court next week seeking a delay in the HAVA requirement that the new machines be ready by the spring primary.

In the meantime, Gould said, the coalition would like to see the commissioners schedule additional demonstrations.

''No decision should be made until all aspects have been looked at,'' she said.

While Cawley said the commissioners now have some extra time to make a decision, they will still take action under the assumption the new machines must be in place by the May primary. He pointed out the commissioners must give the successful bidder enough notice to deliver as many as 800 machines. Also, Cawley said, the machines have to be tested and poll workers trained in their operation.

''It gives us some breathing room, but not a lot,'' said Cawley. ''We are still under the obligation to get them in place by the primary.''