Group wants state to delay replacement of voting system

Amie Rose DAILY HERALD

A group of Utahns is asking the state to delay replacing the state's punchcard voting system with an electronic one.

The group will make its plea at 11 a.m. today on the steps of the state Capitol, part of national Computer Ate My Vote day. They hope to have petitions calling for the delay from all over the state, and will have speakers talking about the cons of electronic

"It's our opinion that it's being rushed through," said Rich Wyman, one of the event organizers. "They need to take more time."

The Help America Vote Act, passed by Congress in the wake of Florida's voting problems during the 2000 election, requires states to have at least one direct-recording electronic voting machine in each polling place for handicapped voters by Jan. 1, 2006.

The state has been working toward that goal since November 2002. The state completed its election reform plan, which calls for replacement of all punchcard voting machines, in June 2003. Lt. Gov. Gayle McKeachnie appointed the voting equipment ion committee in February 2004, and it has been meeting since March. It issued a request for proposals for the new voting equipment July 9. The proposal deadline is Aug. 10.

"They've got until 2006, so they've got time, I think, to wait," Wyman said.

Amy Naccarato, director of the state Elections Office, disagrees. In order to meet the deadline, the state needs to work on this now, she said.

"We need to get moving on this," Naccarato said. "Time is of the essence."

Naccarato said Utah has had problems with the punchcard system. In the mid-1990s, there were problems with ballots in Salt Lake County not lining up with the voting machines. That resulted in hanging chads. Also, the punchcards don't make it easy for voters to write in candidates, and that caused problems in a 2002 school board election in Utah County.

However, the punchcard system is economical and has served the state well, she said.

Wyman said the process has happened so quickly that most people aren't aware that the state is close to replacing the punchcard system with an electronic one. Whenever he mentions computerized voting to anyone, he gets a negative reaction, he said.

He cited problems with electronic systems in New Mexico and Georgia, where votes were miscounted or not counted at all.

Naccarato said the punchcard system won't necessarily be replaced by an electronic one, though there will be one electronic machine in each voting place. The state's request for proposals doesn't specify an electronic system. It could any kind of system that meets security and accuracy requirements and complies with federal and state law.

The committee won't a system until the end of the year.