County to use paper ballots in November
By MICHAEL W. HOSKINS
Daily Journal staff writer
mhoskins@thejournalnet.com

Aug. 21-22, 2004

Voters will have to do more than touch a screen when going to the polls in November’s election.

Instead of using touchscreen voting machines, as in May’s primary, voters will mark paper ballots and slide them through a ballot-reading machine.

Election Systems & Software, the company that sold Johnson County $2.4 million worth of touchscreen voting equipment late last year, has failed to get parts of the machines certified for use by Indiana election officials.

Johnson County’s election board in late July set Friday as the deadline for the company to get state approval. That had not happened by late Friday.

“We’re going with paper,” Johnson County Clerk Jill Jackson said. “I hate to do this to voters, but it’s the safest and surest thing to do. We have to have a backup plan in place.”

Although county election officials were pleased with the performance of touchscreen equipment supplied by ES&S for the May primary, they have repeatedly questioned the company’s integrity and considered terminating the $2.4 million contract.

County election administrators have accused ES&S of twice misleading them about the use of authorized equipment.

The company sold Johnson County the new touchscreen technology last year after county commission and council members approved the purchase.

However, a part of the equipment called firmware was not certified by state election officials. The state allowed counties to use the equipment in May but are requiring state approval for November’s election.

On Friday afternoon, ES&S spokeswoman Becky Vollmer said the company is on target to get the equipment certified before Oct. 1. She said the state gave the company that deadline, although Johnson County chose an earlier date.

Jackson, one of three county election board members, said Friday was the latest Johnson County could afford to wait to ensure an accurate, successful election.

State law requires absentee ballots be printed by Sept. 25.

Using optical scan machines, known as M100s, is the only option left with only three months before the election, she said.

The voting method is a change from what voters used in May’s primary election.

Voters will mark paper ballots with a pen in a private booth. The voter will then take the ballot and slide it through a machine that scans the votes and s the ballot into a sealed ballot box.

“It’s so easy,” Jackson said about the process after a demonstration Friday. “You don’t have to be delicate in marking the ovals. I thought some would be rejected, but it even read sloppy markings very well.”

The method was used for absentee ballot voters in May’s primary election. If there is a problem, Jackson said, poll workers could open the ballot box and make sure the number of ballots matches a printed-out receipt of ballots.

If someone makes a mark outside the voting circle, the machine could reject the ballot and the voter would be asked to fill out another paper ballot.

Marion County used the optical scan machines in May, although the county encountered problems after running out of paper ballots for voters. Jackson said she will require ES&S to print 105 percent of the registered voter list, or more than one per registered voter.

Of the estimated 81,000 registered voters in Johnson County, typically less than half come to the polls, she said. Also, the number of registered voters is believed to be inflated because names of those who are dead, have moved or are registered somewhere else have not been purged from the rolls, Jackson has previously said.

The change in voting methods will not cost the county any money, Jackson said. ES&S is responsible for providing the machines to all 104 voting precincts and paying for all training, materials and support staff for the election.

Neither Vollmer nor Jackson knew what the total cost might be for ES&S to switch systems.

Jackson said she is frustrated about having to use the optical scan machines instead of touchscreen voting equipment.

“The position that this company has put us in is so incredibly frustrating. We paid $2.4 million for something that’s not even on the table anymore,” she said previously. “We’re not getting what we paid for.”

Jackson has not said if she will consider asking the county to terminate the contract with ES&S, or if she plans to ask election attorney Steve Huddleston to file a lawsuit for a breach of contract.

She plans to bring that topic up more seriously after November’s election.

The Indiana Election Commission plans to meet in Indianapolis on Friday, and the county’s election board will conduct a meeting before that at 10 a.m. to confirm the paper ballot voting method.