Greenwood eyes voting system upgrade funds

July 27, 2004

By WALLACE McBRIDE
Index-Journal staff senior writer

South Carolina’s legislature decided this year not to force counties to adopt a universal voting system, but those that receive federal funding to make improvements to election equipment will be required to purchase from a specific, state-approved vendor.
For Greenwood County, though, this requirement will call for little change. The state-approved vendor — Elections Systems and Software — has been the county’s vendor of choice for the last seven years.
The county still hopes to take advantage of new regulations to make upgrades to equipment in time for November’s general election. Federal funds have been allocated to South Carolina to help county governments purchase new voting equipment, with state government providing federally required matching funds of 5 percent for participating counties.
Greenwood County purchased its voting equipment in 1997, and made additional upgrades in 2000 and 2001, said Connie Moody, director of voter registration and elections for Greenwood County.
Moody said the county’s Voter Registration and Election Office will learn today if it is eligible to receive $558,000 in federal funding that would allow it to replace 160 Votronic election machines with 180 new iVotronic models.
The 180 iVotronic units would equate to one voting machine per 250 registered voters in Greenwood County, Moody said.
“The new machines would allow absentee voting electronically in-office,” Moody said. “It would also eliminate the need for paper ballots in-office, therefore saving the county a tremendous amount of money.”
Approval from Elections Systems and Software does not guarantee the county will receive federal assistance, though.
“Even if the company agrees to add us to the list of counties, it does not mean we will get the machines prior to the 2004 general election,” Moody said. Funding is contingent on protests that could arise from the method that federal dollars are dispersed, she said.
The Voter Registration and Elections Office also received $75,000 in this year’s budget for improvements to existing equipment to meet an anticipated revision in state standards.
Because legislators chose not to force counties to meet these standards, this money will not be used this year, she said.