York County officials await word on balloting
Will it be punch cards or electronic voting?

By Erica Pippins The Herald
(Published July 8‚ 2004)

Punch cards or computerized polls?

York County elections officials say they still don't know which one voters will use in the Nov. 2 general election. But they are getting a little closer to having an answer.

After the S.C. Elections Commission approved a contract to install new electronic voting machines in 11 counties across the state, questions arose about the company that was ed. Bidding has since been reopened and other companies have until Friday to submit their proposals.

If things go as planned, a new contract could be awarded by Aug. 2, and the arrival of the equipment upgrades would not be far behind, state officials say.

Wanda Hemphill, director of the county's Voter Registration and Elections Office, hopes to hear something soon.

"We have to wait to see how this unfolds. There have been so many obstacles and snags that have impacted the anticipated timeline," Hemphill said. "We need to know what approach we will have to take for November."

A $32.4 million contract for the electronic voting machines had been awarded to Election Systems and Software earlier this year. But the state's chief procurement officer for technology ruled that the Nebraska based company failed to give a price for each year of a seven-year contract, a bid requirement. That decision was appealed, but it was not overturned.

Despite the delay, Marci Andino, executive director of the S.C. Elections Commission, feels the new machines will be installed in enough time for the counties to train their poll workers. How-to demonstrations for voters prior to the general election are also a part of that process.

"We've done it on a shorter time frame before, but certainly timing is critical," Andino said, adding the elections are likely to run more smoothly if the counties have ample time to prepare.

Several of the vendors who vied for the job the first time around said they could probably be ready to install the machines within two weeks of the contract award. Andino said some of the companies may include similar schedules in the proposals due Friday.

Congress provided money to improve the nation's voting system after flaws in punch-card machines led to recounts and challenges of Florida's results in the 2000 presidential election.

The money for voting machines is supposed to come in phases, with the first phase to replace counties with punch card systems. Chester County and Lancaster County already have electronic voting, but each use different systems. They won't all come at the same time, but York County is slated to get 470 electronic voting machines.