County OK to use new voting system
By SCOTT HALL
shall@thejournalnet.com

March 13-14, 2004

State officials ruled this week that Johnson County can use the same electronic voting system in the May primary that it used in the November election.

Because some of the software still has not been certified in Indiana, however, the embattled system vendor was ordered to post a $10 million bond for use in the event of malfunctions or legal challenges.

“We don’t want the counties or the state to be out any money,” said Kristi Robertson, co-director of the Election Division of the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office.

Representatives of Nebraska-based Election Systems & Software were criticized harshly Wednesday when they appeared before the Indiana Election Commission, she said.

“It was not pleasant for them or any of us,” Robertson said.

The Nebraska-based company sold electronic touch-screen voting systems to Johnson and at least three other Indiana counties last year. Although the systems seemed to work well, state officials discovered later that some of the preinstalled software was a new version not yet certified to current state and federal election standards.

As a solution, the company proposed using an older, certified version of the software in the primary.

However, Johnson County Clerk Jill Jackson and other county election board members were concerned that the older software was not as user-friendly as the newer version used in the fall.

The four county clerks involved were further alarmed recently when Election Systems representatives told them in a conference call that the older software might not tabulate votes correctly.

Although the counties involved remain frustrated with Election Systems, they asked the election commission to approve use of the uncertified software. Their request inspired some leniency by the commission, which had issued subpoenas to bring company officials to the meeting.

Jackson, who testified at the meeting, said the vote could have gone either way, which was nerve-wracking to her with less than two months remaining before the primary.

“They (the commission) felt sorry for the clerks,” she said. “That is the only reason they voted the way they did.”

The Johnson County Election Board was scheduled to meet Friday afternoon to discuss issues surrounding the newer software. The board’s attorney was carefully reviewing the state decision. Jackson had asked Election Systems representatives to attend the meeting and provide written assurances that the company could meet the state’s requirements without further problems.

“It’s at the point where we just don’t feel like we can trust anything they say,” Jackson said. “They are being very evasive.”

State officials also have been concerned that the company was not forthcoming with information. Even after the software problem was publicized, the company sent no representatives to the January election commission meeting. That was why subpoenas were issued to bring a senior vice president and other representatives to the Wednesday meeting.

Election Systems’ regional sales manager, Robb McGinnis, explained Wednesday that the company simply made a mistake and loaded the wrong software on the machines. That was the nearest attempt at an explanation the state had heard so far, Robertson said.

“That’s been the difficulty, finding out what happened,” she said.

Although the new software was approved for the primary, it will not be allowed in the November general election unless Election Systems can obtain the necessary certification by Oct. 1, Robertson said. Without the certification, the company would have to scramble to salvage the situation for its clients.

“They either have to get certified by then or they have to provide certified equipment, even if it’s a competitor’s,” Robertson said.

Election Systems will do whatever it can to make sure the elections run smoothly, spokeswoman Becky Vollmer said. The new software has been under testing for more than a year to determine whether it meets the federal and state requirements, she said, though it is not clear when that certification will come.

“Obviously, we’re going to be working hard to get our new version certified,” she said.

Another frustration for Johnson County officials was that Election Systems recently terminated its local project manager, who had successfully overseen the November election and had a solid working knowledge of the county and its needs.

Jackson planned to ask the election board Friday to approve the temporary hiring of that former employee, Doug Orange, so he can continue to help the county gear up for this year’s presidential election. The hiring is on the agenda for approval by the county board of commissioners at its meeting Monday.

Johnson County will not tolerate any further problems with Election Systems & Software and its $2.4 million voting system, Jackson said.

“We’ll get our money back and go back to punch cards,” she said.