No vote on new voting machines.
Old lever devices used here have only one more election, and then must be replaced. With what? And when?

By Helen Colwell Adams
Sunday News

Published: Jul 31, 2005 7:55 AM EST
LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - When you pull the big red lever on the voting machine this November, you might want to give that behemoth a fond pat on the way out of the booth.

It could be the last time you ever cast a ballot on a lever machine.

At least, that?s the plan.

But a myriad of hurdles remain before Lancaster County replaces its 1940s-vintage voting machines with a new system ? even though federal law says that has to be done in time for the 2006 primary.

The biggest obstacle: As yet, the state elections bureau has not certified any electronic voting machines as approved for county purchase.

Vendors are submitting their systems for testing in Harrisburg now, and certifications should be coming soon, a spokesman for the state bureau said.

In the meantime, a team of Lancaster County officials continues to investigate new voting systems, hoping to be ready to make a multimillion-dollar decision soon after the state weighs in.

Some are expecting an extension of the federal deadline, but that would require an act of Congress, and nothing appears to be in the offing.

Lancaster County stands to get about $8,000 per precinct to help pay for new equipment under the Help America Vote Act, the 2002 law that requires replacement of all lever machines by the 2006 primary.

Mary Stehman, head of the county elections bureau, said she thinks that if the county has new machines in hand by January, there should be enough time to get the system running and get elections staffers ? and voters ? trained to use it.

But everything depends on state certifications.

Will it be done on time?

?That?s the $10 million question,? said Dick Filling, a former state elections commissioner.

Waiting game

When Congress passed HAVA, two years after the disputed 2000 Florida presidential election, it mandated that two older voting systems ? lever machines and punch cards ? had to be replaced by 2004.

Pennsylvania filed for an extension until 2006, the only such waiver specified in the legislation.

Lancaster County is one of 24 Pennsylvania counties that still use lever machines, according to the state elections bureau?s Web site.

Nationwide, about 15 percent of counties have lever machines that need to be replaced. A study of voting systems by a team from Caltech and MIT, in the wake of the 2000 fiasco, showed that lever machines had the highest rate of lost, or ?residual,? votes in governor and senatorial races over 12 years.

But with 10 months left before the May 16 primary, Pennsylvania counties still don?t have an approved list of suppliers.

Brian McDonald, a spokesman for the state elections bureau, said testing of machines from 13 suppliers is ongoing, and by the end of summer, ?we?ll have a better idea which machines (counties will have) to from.? Stehman said a statewide request for proposals from vendors is expected to be issued soon.

Even counties that do not use punch cards or lever machines face the task of getting their equipment recertified as compliant with HAVA, which requires voting systems to be accessible for people with disabilities.

Three western Pennsylvania counties ? Mercer, Beaver and Greene ? will likely have to replace electronic voting machines they bought within the last few years; the state elections office has decertified their UniLect systems after questions were raised about the machines? performance last November.

?Hopefully, they?ll get everything done in time,? Stehman said.

?... On such a big capital investment, we want to make the right decision for the voters.?

The county had examined about nine systems in 2001, but vendors and equipment have been changing over the last four years.

A team including chief administrative officer Don Elliott, the elections staff, the commissioners and the county?s information technology department has been tasked with reviewing voting systems.

Stehman didn?t want to speculate on how much the system might cost, but in the past, county officials have predicted the figure will run into the millions.

HAVA provides federal assistance for counties with lever machines. McDonald said the amount should be $8,000 per precinct, or around $1.86 million under the 232 precincts the county will have at the time of the Nov. 8 election. ?I?m sure they?re going to want the county to pay for some of it,? said Commissioner Pete Shaub, who chairs the county elections board.

?We?ll be complying with the Help America Vote Act,? Stehman said.

Time?s up?

It?s a daunting task to switch voting equipment.

Stehman said that if equipment is bought by January, there should be enough time to do testing and training.

Not only do judges and inspectors of elections need to understand how to operate the new machines ? voters, who have been casting ballots on lever machines for decades, must be familiarized with an entirely new system, probably through public demonstrations.

Bruce Beardsley, the county Democratic chairman, said he thinks Stehman is right.

?Two or three months would be sufficient to do some training,? he said.

?I don?t really believe it is enough time,? said Filling, of Manheim Township, who consults for equipment vendor Hart InterCivic.

Hart?s eSlate system, which looks like a large personal digital assistant, would cost roughly $8,000 for an average-sized precinct requiring two voting machines and a controller unit. Filling said the company has an Aug. 16 appointment for certification testing in Harrisburg. ?Vendors are kind of sitting in limbo,? Filling said, waiting for certifications.

And Pennsylvania isn?t the only state facing the 2006 deadline.

If counties nationwide all start buying at once, he said, ?are the vendors going to be able to manufacture the stuff??

Some companies have ped out of the voting systems business entirely, Filling pointed out: ?Nobody?s buying, and you can?t live on hope.?

Shaub and Beardsley suggested that the deadline might have to be extended.

But that won?t be easy.

HAVA specifies the timetable for replacing lever machines, and changing that would require a new law.

?We?re not aware of any effort to extend the deadline,? said Derek Karchner, spokesman for Congressman Joe Pitts, R-16th District.

?It would be risky to assume Congress will act to change the deadline. The requirement has been out there for three years. It?s clear what HAVA expects and has been since before the 2002 elections.?

Failure to comply with HAVA?s provisions on replacing lever machines involves repayment of the federal subsidies. ?Unfortunately,? Filling said, ?elections always seem to come last.?