Auditors' votes on new machines mixed.
Daily Onpareil. February 25, 2005. By TOM MCMAHON, Staff Writer

Most southwest Iowa counties will be installing new voting machines next year.

At a presentation demonstrating the new equipment this week, county auditors had a mixed reaction to what they saw.

"I wish we could keep our current system," said Harrison County Auditor Susan Bonham.

Her county, like most others in the area, currently uses paper ballots that are collected by precinct workers when the polls close and brought to the courthouse for counting. The ballots are ed into a central counter that tabulates the results.
 
"I like my machine. I think it is easiest for all involved - voters and staff both. This is going to require a lot more training for our election workers," Bonham said.

After the problems experienced in Florida during the 2000 presidential race, Congress enacted the Help America Vote Act in October 2002. Among other items, HAVA requires that voting systems meet new standards and pass certification that includes a maximum error rate of 1 in 10 million.

Christine Vadner of Matt Parrott and Sons Co. gave 17 county auditors from District 4 a sampling of election machine possibilities at the Cass County Community Building. Vadner's Waterloo-based firm is a dealer for Diebold Election Systems.

Iowa's other major provider, Election System Services of Omaha, will conduct a demonstration Monday in Pottawattamie County.

HAVA requires a system that produces a permanent paper record that can be audited manually and used for an official recount. It also requires that the voter be able to verify the votes ed and have the opportunity to change the ballot or correct the error before casting it.

Among HAVA's most controversial provisions is one that requires accessibility for individuals with disabilities, including non-visual accessibility for the blind and visually impaired that allows them to cast their ballots independently and privately.

Vadner demonstrated a direct recording electronic voting machine, or DRE, a machine that meets the disabilities requirements.

The DRE is a computer screen that shows a ballot. It has headphones and a braille key pad for the visually impaired. The voter can listen to a list of candidates and his or her choice on the key pad, Vadner said. "The person then hears their ion and has the opportunity to change it if they want," she said.

"We have to have one handicapped-accessible unit available at each precinct," Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman said.

He said at a cost of $4,000 to $6,000 per DRE, that could cost the county as much as $102,000 for machines that may get little use.

According to HAVA regulations, DRE's can be used by all voters, but if that option is chosen, Iowa law requires one machine must be provided for every 350 registered voters. Industry standards suggest one for every 200 voters to avoid long lines.

Shelby County Auditor Marsha Carter said she does not want to rely strictly on DREs.

"You still have paper absentee ballots and have to have paper ballots on hand in case the DRE malfunctions," she said. Carter said she also wants a better paper trail than the DRE provides.

She said she understands that visually-impaired voters want to vote, but said the cost of the machines is excessive considering the numbers.

"Right now we have one blind person in our county who votes with assistance," she said. Others may do so by absentee ballot.

Carter said Shelby County currently has 16 precincts but she is considering recommending to her board of supervisors that they reduce that number.

"I want to eliminate a couple to help us save on costs," she said.

As far as providing all voters the opportunity to correct their ballots before casting them, Sunderman said counties have two other options in addition to using DRE machines for everyone.

He said they can buy precinct-count optical scan units - machines located at each precinct that spit out incorrectly marked ballots so voters can correct them.

"Or the county can provide voter education and have the votes counted at a central location," Sunderman said.

Most current central counting machines, including those in Cass, Shelby and Harrison counties, do not meet the HAVA standards, so if a county decides to have one central ballot-counting machine, it may have to purchase a new one.

Sunderman said precinct machines cost about $6,000 each, while the central counter is $60,000.

"For us, we'd be looking at $102,000 (17 precincts) versus $60,000," he said.

Bonham said Harrison County's current central counter does not meet HAVA requirements.

"If we use the central counter we have to give voters extra information," she said.

Bonham said HAVA does provide some funding for the new equipment. She said her county will receive about $103,000, and she budgeted $50,000 in county funds to assist with the purchase. It is up to the board of supervisors to decide what it will purchase in order to comply with the new regulations, she said.

"We haven't decided yet what we are going to do," Bonham said.

Carter said she is recommending Shelby County purchase precinct scanners, along with some type of handicapped-accessible equipment.

"There is another system I have heard about, but not seen, where disabled voters can use the same paper ballot," Carter said.

She said the county's current central counter does not meet standards.

She said she is not comfortable purchasing a central counter and then providing voter education.

"How much is enough? What do we have to do?" Carter said. "I think we are leaving ourselves open."

Carter said Shelby County is receiving about $98,000 in HAVA funds and has set aside $90,000 in county money over a couple years.

Vadner said equipment can also be leased or a lease-for-purchase arrangement can be made.

"Every county has to assess its own needs," she said.

Counties have until Jan. 1 of next year to have a certifiable system in place, although Sunderman said he has heard they may delay the handicapped-accessible provision until 2008.