Hamilton County balks at voting change

CINCINNATI (AP) Hamilton County is the latest of three large urban Ohio counties defying the statewide order to pick out new electronic machines to replace punch-card voting systems.

The Hamilton County Board of Elections voted Friday against choosing a new system, saying there are still too many questions about the security of electronic touch-pad systems.

Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell has ordered the 69 Ohio counties still using punch cards to choose one of four electronic systems from one of two vendors. Federal law requires the change to avoid a repeat of the 2000 presidential election fiasco in Florida.

Blackwell has said he wants most counties to change in time for the Nov. 2 presidential election. The rest would be upgraded by 2006 under an extension he's sought with the federal government.

Cuyahoga and Montgomery counties also have declined to make a choice by the Jan. 15 deadline, said Carlo LoParo, Blackwell's spokesman.

He didn't say what action the office would take. The state could choose a system for the county, said Julia Stautberg, director of the Hamilton elections board.

County officials said they're also awaiting state grants. The machines are expected to cost $9 million here.

LoParo said that's no excuse. Ohio has $41 million and is expecting $52 million more from the federal government for the changes, expected to cost $105 million statewide.