WINvote machines wins in a landslide

Supervisors unanimously approve computerized voting machines.

By Greg Esposito
 The New River Valley Current   26 January 2006
  
 CHRISTIANSBURG - The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors approved the purchase of 94 computerized WINvote voting machines Monday despite protests from a group of residents and the Montgomery County League of Women Voters.

The county's unanimous approval of the purchase, which is funded through federal money from the Help America Vote Act, ended a struggle that has pitted the county's registrar and electoral board against critics of the computerized machines. "Obviously, I'm very pleased that they have decided to let us move forward," registrar Randy Wertz said. "We were on a strict time table to get these to move forward."

Passed in 2002, the federal act requires localities throughout the country to have electronic voting machines in time for the 2006 federal elections. Virginia has set a deadline of Jan. 1, 2006. But Wertz, who said upkeep on the county's 1930s-era mechanical machines is becoming more difficult and costly, wants the new machines ready for the primaries this June.

Supervisor John Muffo, who cautioned against the inevitable accuracy problems with computers, said that it would be better to address problems during a primary so there's less trouble in November.

"If we want to have a lot of mistakes, the best way to do that is to go into the general election with new machines," he said. "There will be mistakes, there will be errors, there will be problems. But at this point in time I don't feel we have a choice."

Muffo said he was in favor of machines that printed out receipts so residents could verify who they voted for. But none of the six machines approved for use in Virginia can print out receipts.

The issue of using receipts to guard against glitches or frauds was central to the argument for holding off on buying the WINvote machines.

"I feel like we bought a car with no airbag in it with the idea that we could buy an airbag in the future," said Carl McDaniels, a member of the county's League of Women Voters. "And there are cars out there that already have airbags."

McDaniels was referring to a recent approval in California of Sequoia voting machines that print out paper receipts for voters. The machines were used successfully in Nevada last November. Virginia has approved a Sequoia system, but it won't print paper receipts.

WINvote has a prototype machine that can print paper ballots and has told Wertz that it could develop means to equip current voting machines with ballot-printing equipment. But any changes to the voting machines would be subject to state approval before they could be implemented. Mary Biggs, who in September was the only supervisor to vote against purchasing 21 of the WINvote machines, proposed an amendment Monday to pursue funding to add equipment to print receipts if the state approves such technology. In September, supervisors chose to buy a machine to display in each of the county's 21 districts as a compromise between the county electoral board, which wanted a complete order of the machines before the November elections, and citizens who thought t
he board should wait before committing funds to the machines.

The amendment was something people on both sides of the argument agreed on. The difference in opinion lay in Wertz's insistence that the purchase of the remaining machines be made by the end of January. He said it could take 90 days for the computers to be delivered and then he would have two months to set up the machines and train staff. The nine people who spoke out against the purchase of the machines, however, wanted the county to hold off on a decision while technology improved and the possibility of receipt-producing machines being available remained. They cited a bill in the Virginia General Assembly that could place a moratorium on the purchase of new voting machines by localities.

The bill is sponsored by Del. Tim Hugo, R-Fairfax County, and was spurred by problems Fairfax County experienced with electronic voting machines in November 2003. The League of Women Voters sent out an e-mail Monday with a report by the Fairfax County Republican Committee about problems experienced in 2003, entitled "Operation Ballot Integrity."

Hugo's bill, which is still in committee, would prohibit localities from entering into new contracts with electronic voting machine manufacturers until 2006. Hugo said Tuesday that he wants the subcommittee to finish studying the issue before more localities purchase the machines. He added that an odd coalition of conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats have expressed strong concerns about paperless-ballots.

"The moratorium is to say, 'Why don't we slow down?'" Hugo said. "People win and lose elections. What we don't want is someone on one side of the election feeling like they were unfairly treated because of the machine."

Controversial nationwide, voting machine issues came to a head in Montgomery County in July when the county's electoral board approved a recommendation to purchase the WINvote machines. The decision was made at a meeting in which board members told a crowd that they were not going to make a decision that night. After the crowd left, the board voted.

In the wake of that move, the Montgomery County Democratic Party chose not to reappoint electoral board member Brenda Eanes. Her decision to vote for a new machine was one of the reasons she was not reappointed.

Board members said they had been backed into a corner by state and federal officials who have imposed deadlines without giving localities the option of machines with paper receipts.

"I don't have the least doubt that the electoral board has spent a great deal of time and energy and have made the best choice," Supervisor Annette Perkins said.

But the decision by the county to go ahead with the purchase of machines that resident David Scheim referred to as "lemons" did not sit well with the crowd.

"I think that they had until the end of the year to make their decision," Lucy Goldberg said. "I think it's a bad use of taxpayer money."