County, state officials will usher voters into the future
 
Opinion     Daily Leader    August 02, 2005 
 
 
Forward-thinking Lincoln County officials said this week they will take full advantage of a state-negotiated plan to provide touch-screen, computerized voting machines for the county.  
To comply with the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 - the product of the 2000 presidential election fiasco in Florida - all states have until January to adopt technology aimed at curtailing such voting and vote-counting problems. Under the provisions of the act, the federal government will pay 95 percent of the cost of obtaining d voting machines.

While Mississippi counties were left with the option of finding their own machines and negotiating their own deals, our county officials were wise to follow Secretary of State Eric Clark's lead.

Clark negotiated with a voting machine manufacturer last month for the mass purchase of touch-screen units. For those counties who agree to buy those machines, the state will pick up the remaining 5 percent of the tab, leaving the county owing nothing. Lincoln County officials did say, however, that they may purchase more than their allotment and will have to pay $2,900 for each extra machine - still quite a bargain for the latest voting technology.

Some across the state - officials and their constituents alike - have expressed doubts (or even fear) about the new machines, listing cost, security and accuracy among their concerns. Some have gone as far as to worry that electronic balloting will make elections vulnerable to fraud. That's nothing new. Elections can just as easily be rigged with pencil and paper as with a computer.

Concerns aside, it boils down to this: federal law mandated the change, and Lincoln County officials have complied, opting for smooth elections, fast counting and accurate results. And the move will save county taxpayers money to boot.

We'll vote for that any day.