Utah expands search for electronic voting machines
Friday, April 02, 2004 - 12:00 AM
Amie Rose THE DAILY HERALD  |

The committee working to which electronic voting machines Utahns will be using in 2006 decided to make its request for proposals from machine makers broader, focusing on what it wants from a system rather than specific features.

The committee, created by Lt. Gov. Gayle McKeachnie to oversee the $20.5 million voting equipment purchase, made the decision during a meeting Thursday in Utah County. It will hold a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. April 15 at the state Capitol to comment on the proposal.

The committee has been using a proposal Georgia used in ing its electronic voting machines, but moved Thursday to only use the Georgia proposal as an outline. After making the decision, committee members brainstormed about what they want from the voting system.

The state is required under the Help America Vote Act to provide equal access to blind voters, which means providing one electronic voting machine per polling place.

Committee members decided they want a system that meets all federal mandates, qualifies for federal funding, is election certified or capable of being certified and inspires the confidence of voters. They're also interested in security, privacy, durability and simplicity.

Amy Naccarato, director of the state's elections office, said she's been frustrated by the cutting and pasting she was doing with the Georgia proposal, because it didn't look or feel right.

Under the new approach, the committee will get a larger number of initial bidders, and then in a second step limit the group to two or three bidders using more specific requirements, said Ray Palmer, director of IT for the governor's office.

Once the state decides which electronic voting machines to use, it will use federal money to pay for most of them, provided for in the federal law. Under Utah's plan for complying with the federal act, the state will replace all punch-card voting machines with electronic machines, like those required for the blind, by 2006. It will also develop a real-time voter registration database, implement programs to increase voter participation, design a uniform training program for election judges and provide a way for people who cast provisional ballots to find out whether their vote was counted.