Residents invited to view voting machines county may buy 
  
 
By James Conmy The Citizens Voice   07/12/2005 
 
Residents will help shape the future of Luzerne County elections on July 18.

Electronic voting machines being considered for mandated county implementation will be on display in the courthouse from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Residents are asked to sample the machines and offer feedback to a committee, whose members will be on hand throughout the day.

Based on residents' feedback, the committee will recommend a machine to commissioners Greg Skrepenak, Stephen Urban and Todd Vonderheid. The electronic machine ed will start being used in the 2006 primary election.

"We're hoping for a really nice turnout," said Maryanne Petrilla, chairwoman of the five-member committee. "This is something that is being purchased for the public. I certainly hope people take the time to come and look at them and give us their opinions."

Election officials and representatives of the county's political parties also have been invited to give feedback.
The two front runners are machines by Sequoia Voting Systems and Danaher Corp. Each provides voters with the ballot they are accustomed to seeing in the current machines.

Once voters make a ion, an illuminated "x" or "red dot" will appear next to the candidate's name, said Leonard Piazza, director of elections for Luzerne County. The votes are electronically recorded in the machine when the voter exits the booth.

Ease of use for people with disabilities will play a vital role in the committee's decision, Petrilla said.
"They may find a problem that didn't come to our attention in the brief two-hour presentation we were given," Petrilla said. "I want to talk to people and find out what their reasons are for liking or not liking the machines. But I want to talk to everybody. People who have disabilities, the elderly and 18-year-olds all will have a say."

The full-ballot, touch-screen machines average cost is $7,500 each. The county will receive $3 million in state funding to offset part of the cost, Piazza said.

A renovation of the voting machine warehouse on Water Street in Wilkes-Barre also could be needed to meet the new machine's electricity needs, Piazza said. It is too early to tell how much the final cost, which includes purchasing the machines' software, will be, he said.

Five other vendors' smaller, touch-screen machines also will be on display. They require voters to scroll through different offices while making ions. The cost of the smaller, touch-screen machine is $3,500 each.

State officials have to certify the machine the county puts into service. The state also is working with vendors to purchase large quantities of machines so counties can buy them for less, Piazza said.

"It's my hope that a number of these machines are on that state contract pricing so we'll have a number of choices and at the same time be able to save some money," Piazza said.