Public to view new voting system

By Justin McIntosh   Marietta Times   02 June 2005
Citizen involvement is being called upon for the ion of Washington County?s new voting equipment to be used in 2006.

County board of elections officials put off a decision on ing a new voting system Wednesday to allow citizens the opportunity to test the equipment and ask questions of the equipment manufacturers.

That opportunity will come at the board?s next regular meeting at 9:30 a.m. Monday, July 11, in the board?s conference room in the first floor of the Washington County Courthouse.

The updating of election systems around Ohio is part of the federal Help America Vote Act, which requires new systems to be in place for the first federal elections of 2006.

Congress passed the act in response to the 2000 presidential election problems in Florida. The federal government is paying $115 million for the upgrade in Ohio?s 88 counties.

The issue for Ohio counties is what voting system to purchase and, before last month, the local board was unanimous in its ion of an optical scan system, said Becky Kirkbride, director of the local board of elections.

Now board members are split ? Republican against Democrat ? over which manufacturer to and are requesting citizen help. A proposal going through the Ohio Secretary of State?s Office could put a Sept. 15 deadline on ing a new system, Kirkbride said.

Board member Howard Kitchen said he wanted more citizen interaction because he?s already attended multiple presentations by both manufacturers.

?We have time to change our minds and we want to get more people to look at it, play with it and get a feel for it,? Kitchen said.

A spokesman for the Ohio Secretary of State said last week if the county?s board of elections remained split on which voting system it would use in 2006, the state would make the decision for them.

There are three approved options for counties to choose when ing an d voting machine, two of which are optical scan and a third that is touch screen. The Electronic Systems & Software touch screen system, which Washington County has ed to be its voting machine starting at the latest Jan. 1, 2006, is not currently certified by the state. The other vendor is Diebold Election Systems.

The county joined ES&S?s lawsuit last week to extend the deadline in choosing a new voting system. So far 32 Ohio counties have joined the lawsuit, according to an official with ES&S.

At least one citizen in attendance at Wednesday?s board meeting said the county should go with an optical scan system because of its cost and familiarity with county voters. Some officials estimate the cost of a new touchscreen system could be up to $700,000, while optical scan systems could cost about $224,000. The price difference mostly comes from the need for fewer optical scan systems, Kirkbride said.

?If these touchscreens are as expensive as they are, we?re going to spend 20 years worth of money that will be obsolete in 10 years,? said Jeanne Wilson, of Marietta.