Lee supervisors uncertain about voting machines

7/14/2005 BY LEESHA FAULKNER   Daily Journal

TUPELO - Lee County supervisors aren't sure they want to participate in a statewide initiative for touch-screen voting machines.

District 1 Supervisor Phil Morgan tried the Diebold machines recently at a public display in Jackson and descrobed it as "really confusing."

County Administrator Ronnie Bell agreed, "There're probably going to be a lot of questions."

Supervisors and others will talk about the machines 6-9 p.m. Tuesday with Secretary of State representatives in Tupelo. It's one of 13 such meetings throughout the state about the voting machines.

The state has contracted with Diebold Election Systems to provide the touch-screen voting machines. Secretary of State Eric Clark, the state's chief elections official, says the Diebold machines are the most user-friendly, secure and accurate available on the market.

The machines, he says, will bring counties in compliance with the 2002 federal Help American Vote Act, designed to make voting more accessible to handicapped people.

Counties that opt into the state purchase will receive a number of machines based on voter turnout during the past two state and presidential elections.

By that formula, said Bell, Lee County is in line for about 125 machines. But, he said, "there are a lot of unanswered questions about these machines."

For example, extra machines, if required, would cost about $3,200 each. Officials don't know how long it will take for people to cast votes on them, so they don't know how many to buy to keep the lines down on election day.

Supervisors have until mid-August to make up their minds on whether to join the program.