New voting machines will aid handicapped

By Lindy Sholes    Hattiesburg American    02 August 2005

University of Southern Mississippi student Walter Hamner is partially blind, and although he enjoys exercising his right to vote, he is wary of having an assistant help him.

"We never know if the person marking our ballots for us is marking what we want them to," Hamner said. "If they're strongly for the person you're voting against, they might mark against you."

He hopes to be able to cast his own ballot for the first time during the next elections, and with a federal requirement and a state provision, he may be able to.

Forrest County will be more prepared to accommodate handicapped voters for the next election because of steps taken by Secretary of State Eric Clark to secure funding for the machines.

Forrest County supervisors elected to participate in the procurement plan, which will provide more than 100 new touch-screen machines to be dispersed throughout county voting precincts. Under federal law, central scanner, lever and punch-card machines must be replaced by the new machines by Jan. 1. The deadline to agree to the secretary of state's procurement plan is Aug. 19.

"After the Florida elections and the last presidential elections, there were so many problems with (the old machines), the federal government passed the Help America Vote Act," said Forrest County Board Attorney Jeff Hollimon.

"That act is supplementary to the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires that people with disabilities be given the same access to voting as those without disabilities. This type of voting machine will allow a blind person to vote without an assistant (for example)."

Hamner said he looks forward to using the new machines.

"Some of the blind people I've talked to brought up the fact that those machines will be much easier," he said. "The machines talk, and they tell you what to do and who you're voting for, and you just have to push a button to get the voting done."

Hollimon said the procurement will save the county about $310,000.

Forrest County Circuit Clerk Lou Ellen Adams said it makes sense to participate in Clark's procurement.

"This is an opportunity for us to have state-of-the-art equipment with the funding available," she said.

On June 29, Clark unveiled the new machines, provided by Diebold Election Systems. The 5,164 machines that will be used throughout Mississippi cost a total of $15 million, which includes training, maintenance, voter education and technical support for five years.

Ninety-five percent of the cost is funded by the Help America Vote Act, with 5 percent matched by the state.

"These voting machines will greatly improve the accuracy and integrity of every election in Mississippi," Clark said in a prepared statement. "They are easy to use and are secure. Of all the machines we studied, they were the most 'user-friendly' and came at the lowest price. This purchase is another major step in making historic improvements to the elections process in our state."

Hollimon said Forrest County will purchase any extra machines that will be needed beyond what the procurement provides but he wasn't sure how many machines that would be.

In Lamar County, no decision has been made whether to accept the state's offer, but board president Fred Hatten said he spoke to Lamar County Circuit Clerk Leslie Wilson about the procurement Monday.

"I'm trying to get the best equipment for the best price," Wilson said.