Hernando: Sec. Clark makes pitch for Diebold 
Rino Dolbi    DeSoto Times   August 02, 2005
 
HERNANDO ? Mississippi Secretary of State Eric Clark met with the Board of Supervisors and county election officials Monday to make his pitch for new touch screen voting machines.

?We are trying to make it as easy on the counties as we can,? he said.
Mississippi, like the rest of the nation, must be compliant with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) by Jan. 1, 2006. The act requires that punch card voting machines, old lever machines and other outdated machines be replaced by newer ones which meet federal standards. The act also requires a heavy component to make voting more accessible for the blind, visually impaired and handicapped.
?We know a lot of money is going to have to be spent on making precincts handicapped accessible,? Clark said.
DeSoto County officials are at odds with Clark over whether they need to agree to his plan to use the touch screen version manufactured by Diebold Election Systems.
In February of 2002 the county let bids new machines and accepted the ES&S optical scan machine which reads a paper ballot. The county purchased around 40 machines for its 35 precincts at a cost of $270,000 with the cities and county sharing the cost.
County officials were anticipating that federal funds would be made available to offset the cost of buying the new system.
Clark denied at Monday?s meeting that he ever told local officials that HAVA funds would be made available to buy the optical scan units that DeSoto County wanted.
?I never said that,? Clark said.
State Rep. John Mayo, who attended part of Clark?s presentation to the board, said based on the cost and the fact DeSoto has already mad a sizable investment, the county would have no choice but to opt out of the state?s offer. He said he planned to propose the possibility a statwide bond to purchase additional voting machines. He did not put a dollar figure to the bond.
Clark told supervisors he sent a letter to all counties advising them to wait on any purchase of new machines until HAVA was approved and passed by Congress. That took place in October 2002.
Mississippi has received $15 million in federal funds to buy new machines and he wants all 82 counties to opt for the same system, the Diebold touch screen, Clark said.
?These are the most accurate machines we could find,? he said. ?And one of the main components of HAVA is that the voting system be as uniform as possible across the state.?
He also said the touch screen is ?user friendly? for the average voter, is adaptable for the blind and handicapped and has a ?paper trail?, or paper back up to verify votes.
Working on a formula based on the number of Mississippians who voted in the last four major elections, DeSoto County would receive 173 touch screen machines at no cost, a first for the state. The county would still need to purchase around 125 additional machines.
Supervisor Gene Thach said he believes the optical scan system the county now has is as good if not better than the touch screen and may be easier to use.
?We are well pleased with what we?ve got,? he said. ?We are satisfied with these machines.?
Supervisor Allen Latimer said he also believes the optical scan machines have proved their worth and that they meet HAVA regulations and should therefore be in line for federal funds.
Clark said if counties opt out of the program the state will buy fewer machines and that will drive up the price, leaving less money for reimbursement to the counties that opt out.
State Rep. Ted Mayhall, who was a member of the county election commission that recommended the ES&S optical scan system, said he and other commission members talked with officials from Clark?s office, were told the system was good and would meet federal regulations and would be in line for reimbursement.
?The impetus behind HAVA was the voting turmoil in Florida in 2000,? he said. Thirteen counties in Mississippi had punch card systems and DeSoto County was one of them.?
Mayhall said the county ?acted in good faith? in buying the optical scan system.
?Our system works well. We have had no complaints with it,? he said.
He said the county should be allowed one touch screen machine per precinct to accommodate the blind and handicapped and should be allowed to use it optical scan units for other voters.
?It?s the logical way to go,? he said.
Clark said buying one system for the entire state makes more sense from a cost standpoint.
?If counties are going to opt out that?s just throwing money away,? he said. ?I?m doing what is fiscally responsible for Mississippi.?Election Commissioner Danny Klein said California just recently decided against using the Diebold machine after testing it. He said they had concerns about long lines at the polls, frustration with poll managers and the error rate of the machine.
Buck Jones of Diebold, who demonstrated the machine for the board, said the touch screen was as accurate as any on the market and could be used easily and quickly by voters.
Board President Tommy Lewis asked the Election Commissioners to bring a recommendation to the board at the Wednesday meeting.
The county has until Aug. 19 to opt out of the program that Clark is advocating.