Fall election the last for punch-card voting here

Law requires that county switch to new system, probably optical scan or electronic

RONNIE GLASSBERG    Charlotte Observer   07 July 2005

Get ready to say goodbye to the punch-card ballot in Cabarrus County.

The November municipal elections will likely be the last time local voters will cast ballots with a punch-card system, after about four decades using them.

Federal and state law ban use of such systems beginning Jan. 1. The move follows the problems with punch-card voting machines in Florida in the 2000 presidential election. Cabarrus is one of six N.C. counties that needs to replace its machines.

Cabarrus has used the machines since 1989 and hasn't had problems with them, said county Elections Director Linda Grist.

"Cabarrus County voters seem to like the punch cards," Grist said. "We clean them out (the machines) after every election, so we have very few problems."

Cabarrus County has set aside $1.5 million to replace the machines. The county has received $134,073 in federal money to help cover the replacement cost.

The replacements likely will be either optical scan systems a paper ballot that's read by a computer or an electronic voting system that's similar to an ATM.

A bill introduced in the N.C. Senate would require the electronic systems to include a paper record for the votes. Voters wouldn't see that record.

"They want to be able to preserve the votes cast in the event that there is a problem with the voting equipment," said Johnnie McLean, deputy director for the N.C. State Board of Elections.

The electronic machines would be more expensive, initially, than the optical scan systems, McLean said. But the costs would probably balance out over the long term because the county wouldn't need to print ballots, McLean said.

Before Cabarrus can buy new voting machines, the state Board of Elections needs to review various types and certify their use. It's possible that counties would have choices, she said.

Even if Cabarrus goes with an optical scan system, it would likely need at least one electronic voting machine per polling site.

That's because the Americans with Disabilities Act requires audio capabilities for vision-impaired voters, McLean said.

No additional money is currently available to help the counties buy the replacement machines, she said.