Paper ballot was fine with her
Bill Vidonic, Beaver County Times Staff
05/19/2005
  
Back in the good old-fashioned days, before those newfangled touch-screens, folks around Beaver County walked into voting booths each Election Day with just a pen and a sheet of paper.

Tuesday, what was old was new again, and for folks like Ruby Slappy, using a paper ballot was just fine with her.

"We feel like (the electronic system) was not doing its job, what it's supposed to do," said Slappy, of Aliquippa. "If you vote for one person, someone else's name comes up. I always liked the paper ballots."

The county was using paper ballots Tuesday for the first time since May 1998, because the Pennsylvania Department of State decertified the Patriot electronic voting system, saying it was unreliable.

Doreen Mandity, director of the county's election bureau, stood in a relatively quiet office around 4 p.m. Tuesday, with not a single phone ringing and no chaos around her.

Mandity said that's pretty much what she expected, with only some questions Tuesday morning about who was eligible to vote and other procedural questions.

"I'm not surprised," Mandity said. "It's the same system we used before."

She added that poll workers just needed a refresher course on what to do since paper ballots haven't been used for so long.

"I think going back to this will make people feel more comfortable when going in to vote," said Robert Reynolds of Aliquippa.

Poll workers around most of Beaver County reported light turnout. The final voting numbers were not available Tuesday night, but Mandity expected a low turnout.

Melba Johnson of New Brighton said she missed using the electronic voting machines.

"It's quick, it's easier, and everything is self-explanatory," Johnson said. "In my mind, your vote goes into a computer and no one can touch it. They can't rip up paper or erase any marks. Nothing can be changed."

Baden resident Sylvia Fawcett also preferred the electronic system, saying, "It's just a shame we had to go back to paper. We're going more backward than forward."

Robert Prentice of Ambridge said he didn't mind either voting system, as long as his vote was properly counted. "As long as people do what they're supposed to do," Prentice said, "I guess it'll be trial-and-error until they get the process right."

One woman, Mandity said, called the election bureau to complain that there were no curtained booths for voters to step into, and the woman was concerned that voters didn't have any privacy.

Mandity said the county got rid of the voting booths when they switched over to the electronic system, which had hoods to cover the screens from prying eyes. Voters cast their ballots in the cases that the machines were held in, and the hoods were removed so that voters had enough light to see their ballots.

"We only had two weeks to prepare for this," Mandity said. "We did the best that we could."