New voting machines expected by Aug. 2 vote

By Jim Bebbington Dayton Daily News  20 May 2005

DAYTON | Some Montgomery County voters will get their first view of the new touch-screen voting machines during the Aug. 2 special election.

Montgomery County's Board of Elections approved a $6.8 million contract Thursday to buy touch-screen voting machines from Canton-based Diebold Election Systems. It is the third time in two years that the board has ed a supplier for a next-generation voting system, but this time appears to be final.

The new machines will replace the punch-card voting systems that were blamed for confusion and an excessive number of uncounted votes in the 2000 presidential election, particularly in Florida.

Montgomery County hopes to have the first machines available for an Aug. 2 election in which it's likely only three communities in the county will have issues on the ballot. Thursday was the filing deadline.

After that, the county intends to roll out the machines more completely for the November election. Federal funds will cover most of the cost in Montgomery County, with the county's general fund paying $1.3 million, Harsman said.