Standardized voting machines coming to all
Thursday, March 24, 2005
JEAN SPENNER
THE SAGINAW NEWS

Voters across Saginaw County all will soon cast their ballots in the same fashion, thanks to Help America Vote Act funds.

New optical scan voting machines about 70, valued at around $336,000 should arrive in all county municipalities by fall, said County Clerk Susan S. Kaltenbach.

Townships that have not had the technology will get machines and other areas that have used optical-scan machines will get newer, faster versions, she said. 
      

"In 1994, (former County Clerk Roland G.) Niederstadt and other local clerks in the county had the foresight to put us on one system," Kaltenbach said.

The city of Saginaw will receive reimbursement for 22 machines it bought in 2003. Kaltenbach said she did not know if the city would receive the total purchase price. "They will get a good portion of it back," she said.

It's not clear if the city decides to add more precincts whether it will get funds for additional machines, said acting City Clerk Diane Herman.

Michigan so far has received $48 million in federal funds to help in election reform efforts, said Secretary of State Terry Lynn Land during a stop at The Saginaw News on Wednesday. A large element of the plan is the adoption of a uniform statewide voting system using optical scan and precinct-based tabulation technology.

"We're ahead of the game in Saginaw County," Kaltenbach said. "Other counties are on total punch-card systems, and Oakland County had five different types of systems."

Land said she chose optical scan technology for the state because it provides voters with a ballot that is reviewable before it is cast, it allows for consistency between absentee ballots and election-day ballots, eases the recount process and permits faster compilation and reporting of election results.

Kaltenbach said there possibly is some resale value in the old machines to groups who may run elections on a smaller scale.