Group?s members test new voting machines

League of Women Voters say electronic system could make voting take longer

By Patrick Waldron   Daily Herald    June 29, 2005  
Kane County voters casting ballots in next spring?s elections should expect a whole new experience and possibly a longer wait than they are accustomed to, representatives of the League of Women Voters concluded Tuesday.

Everyone is going to be like a first-time voter, many League members said after getting a private demonstration of the county?s new electronic voting machines expected to debut for the March 2006 primary.

?I am really concerned about how long this is gong to take,? said Carolyn Zinke of Geneva.

County Clerk Jack Cunningham invited about a dozen members from Leagues in Geneva, St. Charles, Batavia, Elgin and Dundee Township to get a close up view of the machines that will replace the county?s punch card ballot system.

Provided by Texas-based Hart InterCivic and in use in nine other states, the eSlate system looks and works like an oversized Palm Pilot. During Tuesday?s special demo, one of many slated around the county in the coming months, Cunningham stressed the need for voter education.

?The more you are around (the system), the more you are comfortable with it,? Cunningham said.

He plans to lean heavily on the area League of Women Voter groups in successfully executing a voter education drive, mitigating delays on the first election day with the new machines.

The women who saw it Tuesday asked questions about vote security, how votes would be counted and got to practice casting sample ballots. Reviews were mixed but many thought voters could and would get the hang of it.

?I think they are fairly easy to understand,? Gloria Oliver of Batavia said.

Some computer-shy seniors and others might be hesitant, but with help could easily get through it, she said.

Besides mastering the nuts and bolts of it, Janet Craft of Geneva said, the key will be getting people to feel comfortable with an electronic machine recording and tallying the vote without a paper ballot.

?I think voter confidence is going to be the biggest thing,? she said.