DeSoto County may be at odds over voting machine choice

Associated Press    Biloxi Sun Herald   19 July 2005

HERNANDO, Miss. - DeSoto County officials are debating whether to switch to new Diebold Corporation voting machines being touted by Secretary of State Eric Clark under a state contract.

Meanwhile, Diebold's chief competitor, Election Systems & Software of Omaha, Neb., is telling Mississippi county officials that they have the final word in the ion process.

ES&S, in a letter to county officials signed by Steve Evans, the company's regional sales manager, and Mike Devereaux, vice president of the company, said Mississippi election law allows counties to conduct business with the vendor of their choice.

"Fortunately because of this legislation ES&S can still provide a voting solution that best meets your needs," the letter stated.

For nearly two decades, ES&S has furnished machines in elections for 68 of 82 counties in Mississippi. The letter said the company "is extremely disappointed" with Clark's decision to contract with Diebold election systems for Mississippi's statewide voting enhancement contract.

In Ohio, ES&S has sued to stop that state from entering a contract with Diebold. The lawsuit is pending.

Among other things, ES&S asserted in its complaint that Ohio's secretary of state violated a contract with ES&S by directing business to Diebold.

ES&S also complained of "secret negotiations" held by representatives of that state and what it described as "a single competing vendor."

Mississippi counties have until August to decide whether to take the state-purchased machines or pay for others.

In Lee County, the board of supervisors has asked for more information on Diebold's machines.

In DeSoto County, Election Commission Chairman Paul Beale said the county's optical scan voting machines meet all federal requirements under the Help America Vote Act.

DeSoto County replaced its punch card voting machines following the 2000 presidential election. The new optical scan units, which read a paper card ballot which then acts as a backup, cost the county about $250,000. The county anticipated it would be reimbursed when federal funds became available to replace old voting systems but that didn't happen.

Beale told supervisors that what the county now has is superior to the Diebold touch screen.

The state purchased 5,164 of the new machines and 173 have been allocated to DeSoto County.