County worries about change in voting machines

By Kelly Marshall

The Sun News

'We stand to lose a lot of money.'
Herb Bailey chairman, Georgetown County Election Commission

GEORGETOWN - County officials are concerned the state will interfere with the way the county conducts its elections.

Herb Bailey, chairman of the Georgetown County Election Commission, told County Council that the S.C. Election Commission wants to dictate that all counties use the same electronic voting system.

Georgetown County, however, already has an electronic voting system that is proved to be effective, Bailey said.

He asked that the county attorney, Jack Scoville, request that a declaratory judgment be issued to make the commission stop its action.

He also wants Scoville to request an injunction to stop the commission from awarding the contract for the purchase of new machines.

The county could be forced to accept another voting system by 2006, Bailey said.

If the commission forces the county to change systems, the county's current voting machines will be sold at a loss to "whoever will buy them," Bailey said.

"The State Election Commission is proceeding," Bailey said.

"We stand to lose a lot of money."

Several other areas, including Lancaster, Newberry and the city of Lexington, are opposing the change, Bailey said.

Lancaster, Newberry, Georgetown and the city of Lexington use the UniLect Patriot system. One of the systems being considered by the state is Diebold, which was used in Florida during the 2000 presidential race. The other is ES&S.

Georgetown County does have a right to protest the decision, Scoville said.

He said the change could be blocked if there are problems with the state's procurement process for the new voting machines.

The council told County Administrator Tommy Edwards to write a letter to local legislators and enlist the support of other counties in South Carolina to protest the change.

Council members said counties should be allowed to choose their own systems.

"Other jurisdictions might join in," said council Chairman Sel Hemingway.