Davis County to preview electronic voting machines
Saturday, July 16, 2005

By Kimberly Jahnke   Standard-Examiner

FARMINGTON This Davis County city may be among the first in Utah to try out new touch-screen voting equipment in November's election.

The equipment, from Diebold Inc., is expected to begin arriving in the state as early as next month, said Davis County Clerk/Auditor Steve Rawlings.

An estimated 2,300 machines of a total 7,500 should be in the state by November. The new equipment is in compliance with the federal Help America Vote Act, which was adopted in 2002 as a response to voter problems in Florida during the 2001 presidential election.

States with punch-card and lever voting machines are required to comply with the act by Jan. 1, 2006, in order to continue receiving certain federal funds.

The Lt. governor's office, which oversees elections in the state, hopes to have trial elections this fall with the new equipment, said Michael Cragun, a former Davis County commissioner who currently serves as the state's elections division director.

"The reality is that not everybody can use them this fall," Cragun said.

The state will not have enough equipment or time to train election officials on the new machines by the Nov. 8 election, he said.

The machines will first be used statewide in June's primary election, but pilot elections are needed to help establish procedures and work out any potential kinks.

Representatives from Diebold are busy planning ways to introduce the electronic polling machines to a public comfortable with punch cards.

The company plans to debut the machines at county fairs this summer.

"It will give voters the opportunity to see what is coming their way," said Dana LaTour, a sales representative with Diebold.

And by November, Diebold which has voting equipment contracts in 27 states hopes to continue that early exposure across the state.

"Our goal is to have one in every polling location in state of Utah," LaTour said.

Those machines, LaTour said, won't be used for actual voting, but will allow voters to see and practice using the new technology. Election officers will be provided with answers to commonly asked questions.

Davis County is set to receive more than 830 machines, Rawlings said. Federal funds will cover the bulk of the $20.5 million initial expense of purchasing the equipment, with the state promising to make up the difference.

And though it appears the county escaped paying for the purchase of the new equipment, more than $40,000 will be needed to renovate a storage facility for the voting machines.

The county will likely incur additional expenses in payroll, as well. Extra staff will be needed to program the new machines. But the county has already budgeted for the temporary positions around election time, Rawlings said.

Using the basement for storage was a cheaper option than constructing an entirely new building, with a price tag of up to $300,000, he said.

The County Commission has approved a $33,000 contract with HHI Corp. to remodel the basement of the Farmington library to house the machines.

An additional $10,000 will be needed down the line to add security features to the basement, including video cameras and secure steel doors with electronic entry, Rawlings said.

The room must be secured to prevent tampering with the machines, he said.