Lawmakers: Reconsider punch cards

03/05/04
Julie Carr Smyth
Plain Dealer Bureau

Columbus

State lawmakers studying voting-machine security might consider taking Ohio's plan back to square one, with some suggesting that the state erase three years of planning and stick with punch cards.

At the opening meeting of a newly appointed House-Senate committee on Thursday, Rep. Bill Seitz asked legislative analysts to provide a cost comparison of upgraded punch cards vs. the electronic machines Ohio has planned.

"If there is a way to deliver a punch card system . . . for less money, I'd be very interested," said Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican.

Sen. Jeff Jacobson of Dayton accused Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, a fellow Republican, of misleading lawmakers and usurping their ability to influence the state's plans.

He said $5.8 million for a rollout of new voting equipment was "slipped into a bill," indirectly authorizing Blackwell to move forward with replacing punch cards.

"We have found ourselves trying to play catch-up on this on a regular basis because of the way he has chosen to treat the General Assembly," Jacobson said after the meeting. "That's how we find ourselves where we are today."

He said he will urge his colleagues on the State Controlling Board to delay approval of voting-machine-related contracts scheduled for consideration Monday. He also asked analysts to clarify the legislature's role in voting-machine ion.

Blackwell's staff within months of deploying Ohio's first electronic voting machines in response to the federal Help America Vote Act appeared stunned.

Legislative committees began meeting on the issue in 2001, and since then, machine vendors have been picked, lawsuits fought, security concerns reviewed and contract commitments made.

Blackwell called a news conference to defend his plans, repeating his belief that punch cards cannot meet the standards laid out in the federal act. Besides, he said, when Illinois sought to convert its punch card machines to comply with the Help America Vote Act, the state learned it would cost more than buying modern machines new.

He said no vendor even offered an upgraded punch card system when his office went out for bids.

Blackwell bristled at charges that he has left the legislature out of the process. He said the $5.8 million that Jacobson cited was not "slipped" into a bill but was included - with an explanation -in the capital budget that Gov. Bob Taft introduced last session.

"Our process has been very, very transparent," he said. "Either these legislators are making decisions with their heads in the sand or they have a very ive memory."

Jacobson said Blackwell has pushed to replace punch cards despite the reservations of some legislators. Many of those skeptics now sit on the new, bipartisan voting-machine security committee.

"He knew that we had strong feelings in the General Assembly about whether or not we should go to a system that required getting rid of punch cards, but instead of saying, 'We're getting rid of punch cards,' only later were we told that we were stuck," he said. "I think that's disingenuous."

Catherine Turcer of Ohio Citizen Action was disheartened at the possibility of a delay.

"It's been four years, and it is painful to imagine that we're not going to have a system in place that people trust," Turcer said.

Sen. Randy Gardner, the committee's chairman, said assuring that the machines are secure from tampering and manipulation is the panel's main objective. The group will also decide whether to recommend requiring paper receipts that allow voters to verify the contents of their ballots.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

jsmyth@plaind.com, 1-800-228-8272