Group takes look at electronic voting machines 
 
 
By James Conmy   The Citizen's Voice   04/09/2005 
 Luzerne County voting machine ion committee members were noticeably impressed Friday with a unit already being used in Philadelphia.

The ELECTronic 1242 by Danaher Controls is the fourth electronic machine the committee has reviewed. It will be on display sometime in June when the county invites members of the public to sample all of the machines being considered.

The machine endorsed by the public and committee members will be recommended to commissioners Greg Skrepenak, Stephen Urban and Todd Vonderheid. To comply with federal law, the county has to purchase machines and implement electronic voting by 2006.

"This machine (1242) is awesome," committee chairwoman Maryanne Petrilla said. "I really liked the accuracy and peace of mind you're going to have an accurate vote."

It features a ballot with illuminated boxes next to candidates' names. A voter touches the lighted box to a candidate, public question, or a straight party vote.

The machine has eight systems recording voter ions. The tallies also will be printed out for election officials to verify counts.

A wheelchair-bound member of the voting machine committee, Doris Merrill, had no difficulty voting on the machine.
"Most of my friends that are veterans and paraplegics can use this," Merrill said.

If a voter cannot reach the illuminated ballot, the machine has a headset and handheld keypad that allows people to vote.

The ELECTronic 1242 is voter friendly, tamper-proof and extremely accurate, said Matthew Lilly, vice president of the electronic voting machine division of Danaher Controls.
"Getting poll workers and voters adjusted to the system is the hard part," Lilly said.

If the county decides to purchase the ELECTronic 1242, it will cost $5,100 for each machine. The county will need approximately 500 machines for its 316 precincts.

Software, supplies and training for bureau of elections' employees and poll workers will cost an additional $500,000, Lilly estimated.

The cost will increase by $1,000 per machine if the federal or state government mandates paper audit trails to verify votes cast.

The county anticipates receiving a $3 million grant from the state to offset the cost of purchasing the machines.