Voting machine 'security' issue raised

Motion would deny access to clerk/candidate Marsha Abell

By JOHN MARTIN Courier & Press staff writer 464-7594 or jmartin@evansville.net
March 30, 2004

Only a "small circle" of individuals should know a security password on the county's new computerized voting machines, Election Board member Don Vowels said.

And since County Clerk Marsha Abell is a candidate in this year's election for County Council, Vowels said he doesn't think Abell should be in that circle.

Vowels, the lone Democrat on the three-member Election Board, made a motion Monday that Vowels and board member Mark Foster should have the password, and the board should also receive the names, job titles and addresses of Election Systems & Software employees who have the password.

Election Systems & Software, a Nebraska company, is Vanderburgh County's election equipment vendor.

No vote was taken Monday on the motion because Abell was not present. Foster said Abell should be able to speak on the issue before a decision is reached.

Vowels agreed. "I'm interested in her (Abell's) input," he said.

The Election Board will reconvene at 2 p.m. Wednesday, when Abell and an Election Systems & Software representative are able to be present.

Abell, a Republican, is an Election Board member and her office is responsible for conducting county elections. She has served two terms as county clerk and is constitutionally barred from seeking a third. But she is among three Republicans seeking at-large spots on the County Council.

Abell, reached after the meeting, said she wants to talk further with Vowels about the motion's intent.

She said that when she was re-elected county clerk four years ago, she never touched any ballots and there was no question about the election's integrity.

"My gut feeling is, if he's trying to insinuate I would do anything (improper), that's a very serious accusation," Abell said.

Vowels denied any such motive. He said his motion is intended to protect the integrity of the election process and to "severely limit those people who are aware of the password. It's not to disparage Mrs. Abell or her candidacy."

Kristi Robertson, co-director of the Indiana Secretary of State Election Division, said state statute does not specify who has access to the security password Vowels referred to.

"(Statute) says the county election board is responsible for keeping election results secure, canvassing the results and certifying the results," Robertson said.

The password, according to Foster, who like Vowels has attended training sessions on the new machines, serves as a "firewall."

"You can't go beyond a particular area without it," Foster said. "It makes vote totals erase, so the machine can be used again for each election."

In another matter on Monday, the Election Board passed an order allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to serve as precinct workers. The legal voting age is 18, but 17-year-olds may vote in a primary election if their 18th birthday comes before the general election. Student precinct workers must have a grade-point average of at least 3.0 and have permission from their legal guardians and school principals. They must attend the same training as any precinct workers.

Dennis Beadles, Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corp. supervisor for social studies, said a new federal law allows for student precinct workers. He said that in the past, 17-year-old students who were eligible to vote have served as precinct workers.

The Election Board's action Monday allows 17-year-olds who can't vote and 16-year-olds to work at polling places.

"It will provide an opportunity for the kids to learn something on Election Day," Beadles said. "And for the political parties and the Election Board, it will provide some extra workers."