How will Athens Co. respond to latest on voting machines? 
2005-01-18 
By Nick Claussen 
Athens NEWS Associate Editor 
 

After Athens County nearly got electronic touch-screen voting machines but then stuck with punch-card ballots in 2004, it now looks as if the county soon will change over to an optical-scan voting system.

Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell announced last week that he is requiring all Ohio counties to shift to optical scan by May 2006. With optical-scan voting machines, voters fill in circles on voting cards (similar to blacking in circles on standardized tests) and then feed the cards into vote-counting machines. The machines have a paper trail that can be checked and they are less expensive than electronic touch-screen voting machines. Blackwell has been quoted as saying he hopes that all Ohio counties can have the optical machines in place in time for the November election.

Blackwell's directive drew a mixed reaction around the state, and the chair of the Athens County Board of Elections said Friday that she sees both good and bad in Blackwell's announcement.

"I'm not happy about the two-vendor situation," said Susan Gwinn, chair of the county Board of Elections, referring to the two companies from whom Blackwell said counties can purchase the optical-scan machines. "They are both so closely aligned with the Republican Party." Gwinn also chairs Athens County Democratic Party.

The two companies are Diebold Election Systems and Elections Systems & Software. Each county in Ohio has until Feb. 9 to choose a voting system from one of these two companies, or Blackwell will make the choices for each individual county.

Blackwell previously had pushed for counties to choose either optical-scan or electronic touch-screen voting machines in time for the November 2004 election. The Athens County Board of Elections in 2004 voted to go with an electronic touch-screen system provided by Diebold Election Systems, although Gwinn cast the dissenting vote in that 3-1 split.

While the board chose in 2004 to go with the electronic systems, members were hoping to not have to use the systems until 2005, since the 2004 fall balloting was a presidential election and those elections generally have high turnouts. Before the election, though, the state put on hold the process for new voting machines in Ohio because of concerns over the machines. This meant that county officials did not have to worry about changing voting devices.

Last week, before Blackwell announced his directive, Athens County Board of Elections members said they hoped the state would not hold the counties to their contracts for new voting machines, since the state was changing the requirements. The Athens County members also said they now favor the optical-scan machines if they had to make a change.

Gwinn said Friday that she is pleased that the state now wants counties to go with the optical-scan machines.

"This is kind of a relief, I think," she said. "Frankly, the whole state will be using the same system, which is a good idea."

A convention is being held soon for board of elections members across the state, and Gwinn said the board members probably can view examples of the two types of optical-scan machines at the convention. She said the Athens County board will have to decide quickly on one of the two machines, and she is anxious to learn more about both of the systems.

Gwinn said she doesn't know if Athens County can have an optical-scan system in place before the November election, and that a lot will depend on whether the vendors can obtain enough voting-machine equipment for Ohio's 88 counties.

In 2004, Athens County Board of Elections members expressed concern that the state might not provide enough money for all of the machines needed in the county. Gwinn said that could still be a concern, and she is anxious to learn how much funding the state will provide for machines in each county. She added that if the state does not provide enough money, the board will have to ask the Athens County Commissioners for extra funding for machines.

Media reports last week also stated that Blackwell may require counties to have at least one electronic touch-screen voting machine in each precinct for disabled voters. Gwinn said that Athens County has 69 precincts, but only about 40 voting locations because many locations serve more than one precinct. She said she doesn't know if the county will have to purchase 69 electronic touch-screen machines or if it could just purchase one for each voting location.