Riverside County joins voting lawsuit against state

By: North County Times wire services

LOS ANGELES - Riverside County joined a federal lawsuit filed in Los Angeles and aimed at ensuring that disabled residents can vote anonymously, lawyers said today.

The action was filed March 8 on behalf of the American Association of People with Disabilities, the California Council of the Blind Inc., the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers and 11 individuals.

At issue is a directive from Secretary of State Kevin Shelley stating that by 2006, all California counties must have voting machines that print out paper records.

Riverside County, which already has new touchscreen machines that are accessible to the handicapped, does not want to be forced to buy new machines that it contends will not provide the same level of privacy for blind voters.

Under Riverside County's current system, blind voters listen to the ballots on headsets and use a keypad to cast votes.

Mischelle Townsend, registrar for Riverside County, said the existing touchscreen system has been a success.

"We have security safeguards that are proven to be effective, and Shelley's directive admits they are secure," Townsend said.

"The secretary's directive would force us to abandon accessible (touchscreen) machines and to spend taxpayer money we don't have on new machines that won't be accessible."

In Los Angeles and three other California counties named as co-defendants in the lawsuit, touchscreen machines have not been fully phased in, and voters instead ink paper ballots. To do so, they require the help of another person, which the advocacy groups say also interferes with voters' privacy.

The advocacy groups claim Los Angeles and the other three counties have delayed switching to touchscreen machines at least in part because Shelley's directive would require them to buy a whole new set of machines in the next few years.