County asked to reconsider electronic voting machines

Elections administrator says method used with early ballots is accurate

09:31 PM CDT on Tuesday, August 24, 2004

By FRANK TREJO / The Dallas Morning News

With the November general election fast approaching, Dallas County commissioners were urged Tuesday to reconsider their use of electronic voting machines for early voting.

"Our primary concern is that electronic voting machines are eight times more likely to produce flawed results," said Susybell Gosslee, president of the League of Women Voters of Dallas.

Ms. Gosslee said the number of reports about problems with the machines has been increasing around the country.

"Current technology cannot guarantee accuracy, recount ability and accessibility," she told commissioners.

Ms. Gosslee and others asked the county not to use the machines until technology is available to ensure accuracy and provide a way to recount votes.

Dallas is among more than a dozen Texas counties that use direct recording electronic voting machines, which do not leave a paper trail of votes. The machines use touch-screen technology.

But the machines are used only for early voting. On Election Day, the county will use optically scanned paper ballots. More than 25 percent of people are expected to cast their ballots in early voting, which begins Oct. 18.

Elections administrator Bruce Sherbet said the Dallas County system has improvements that would prevent some of the problems seen in places such as Florida, which had difficulties with verifying totals.

"Our system is 100 percent accurate. It has been proven and certified both locally and federally. There have never been accuracy problems with our system," Mr. Sherbet said. "When we're talking about electronic voting, we need to make sure we're talking apples to apples."

Most of the commissioners did not respond to the concerns raised by Ms. Gosslee, as well as former Democratic state Rep. Harryette Ehrhardt, and Jan Sanders, wife of U.S. District Judge Barefoot Sanders.

Commissioner Jim Jackson told the group he disagreed with them about the reliability of the electronic voting machines, noting that all voting systems have some degree of error.

"People who don't feel comfortable voting on these machines should consider voting on Election Day," Mr. Jackson said.

Commissioner John Wiley Price said he agreed with those who spoke out against using the electronic voting machines.

"This is not just their concerns but concerns we've seen across the country," Mr. Price said. "We should have some kind of backup system available."

Mr. Price said that the cost of providing paper ballots to early voting locations is estimated to be about $200,000.

"I think we need to do whatever we need to do to ensure the sanctity of the ballot," he said.

Ms. Ehrhardt, who spoke on behalf of Citizens for Equality, a Democratic political action committee, said her group is worried not just about potential problems with counting, but about the public perception that could keep people from the polls.

"We want to ensure that every eligible voter has the right to vote," she said.