Electronic voting may soon make its mark in Hays County
By JEFF WALKER - Staff Reporter
Posted: Wednesday, Mar 24, 2004 - 03:52:00 pm CST

Hays County voters may get their hands on some of the new electronic voting machines this fall - if only for a test.

Audience members got a taste of the new voting method during the Hays County Commissioner's Court meeting Tuesday.

A presentation of the eSlate voting machine was given by Phillip W. Braithwaite, director of sales and business development for Hart Intercivic.

It's possible that a few of these machines could be purchased in time for use in November's general election, simply for a "practice run" for voters to become acquainted with the machines, according to Commissioner Bill Burnett. The systems cost around $2,500 each.

The current punchcard voting system used by Hays County will be outlawed by January 2006 under federal legislation, according to Hays Elections Administrator Joyce Cowan.

The machine itself is a five pound unit with a full color, high resolution display on which voters can highlight candidate names and simply press a button to cast their vote.

The eSlate machine prevents overvoting and alerts voters of undervoting before they are presented with a clear summary of their actions for verification. A display of a waving American flag then symbolizes the end of the voting process.

Potentially, each voter in Hays County would be given a 4-digit access code upon entering the voting site. They would simply slide their paper card bearing the code through the machine to begin casting their ballot. Braithwaite assured concerned audience members that this was completely safe.

"The access code you're given is not tied to any one individual," Braithwaite said. "Once the paper card is used, that can in no way be used again."

Cowan said that voter familiarity with these machines is a very important, and she plans to make that priority before any are put into use.

"We need to make a decision, make a purchase, and educate people about the eSlate," Cowan said. "We want to go to as many clubs and organizations as we can. All walks of life are using computers, and we all adjust to new technologies."

There are currently 30 jurisdictions in Texas that use eSlate, including Travis County, Brazos County, Tarrant County and Harris County.