Vote-machine idea runs into corporate problem   
By Kevin P. Connolly | Orlando Sentinel
Posted August 2, 2005

DELAND For months, a ballot-marking device called AutoMark has been touted as a possible solution to Volusia's voting-equipment debate.

The device, marketed by Election Systems & Software based in Omaha, Neb., allows visually disabled people to vote independently, and it leaves behind printed ballots seemingly satisfying major concerns of the visually disabled and paper-ballot supporters.

It also appeals to some county officials because of its advertised compatibility with other vendors' equipment. But AutoMark, approved at the federal level, faces a new obstacle that threatens to keep it out of voting booths in Volusia and elsewhere in Florida in the near future.

Officials with ES&S competitor Diebold Election Systems are warning state and county officials against using Diebold equipment and software with other products. Diebold Election Systems Inc. is a McKinney, Texas-based subsidiary of Diebold Inc.

"The commingling of other election-related products with [Diebold products] is at the user's own risk," Diebold officials wrote in a "product-use advisory" to county officials. "Buyers of [Diebold products] should also be aware that the products carry licensing and intellectual property rights and restrictions."

Diebold's products can't be used with "any third party vendor's certification" process without the company's "prior written authorization," a company official wrote in a letter to the state.

The warnings, issued in separate letters last month to state and county officials, will likely delay tests of AutoMark and its possible certification as a federal deadline looms for Volusia and other counties to purchase disability-accessible voting devices.

The deadline is Jan. 1 under the federal Help America Vote Act.

But Volusia County Elections Supervisor Ann McFall said she needs to know this month whether the county wants to replace its entire voting system or if it wants to purchase supplemental but paperless touch-screens.

"So, we're down to the wire," McFall said Monday.

Many counties in Florida comply with the accessibility requirements because they already have touch-screens or they have some on the way.

But Volusia, because of its history of high-profile recounts and close elections, has refused to purchase touch-screens the only devices that meet accessibility requirements because they don't create paper ballots at the polling location.

The National Federation of the Blind and other plaintiffs filed a federal lawsuit against Volusia County in July after a majority of County Council members rejected a grant-funded contract to spend $776,935 for 210 accessible touch-screens and related equipment from Diebold.

NFB failed to obtain a preliminary injunction to force the county to immediately purchase touch-screens for the Oct. 11 city elections.

Although the suit is still active, county officials who want all-paper voting systems said the NFB's court setback gave them more time for AutoMark to get approved in Florida.

As of Friday, officials with the state division of Elections deemed all five applications for AutoMark three with Diebold systems and two with ES&S to be complete.

That cleared the way for the next and final step testing.

It's unclear, however, how AutoMark will be tested with Diebold devices. It's up to the vendor to figure that out, state officials said.

"We don't know the specifics at this point," ES&S spokeswoman Jill Friedman said Monday. Diebold representatives couldn't be reached for comment.

County Chairman Frank Bruno has voiced support for the AutoMark device because it can be equipped with headphones and "audio ballots" to allow visually disabled to vote independently.

They also provide the "paper trail" Bruno and others want because they mark paper ballots just like the ones used by sighted voters.

But if AutoMark doesn't get certified for the county's Diebold system, Bruno is willing to consider other options, including switching to an all-ES&S system. That's assuming AutoMark wins certification with partner ES&S.

Bruno estimated the cost of switchover at about $2.2 million, nearly half of which would be covered under the federal grants if a contract is approved before the Jan. 1 deadline.

"If that's what we have to do, that's what we'll have to do," he said.

Susan Pynchon, the executive director of DeLand-based Florida Fair Elections Coalition and an AutoMark supporter, isn't surprised by Diebold's position.

"In an ideal world, it would be nice if Diebold would say, 'Sure, go ahead and use AutoMark.' But they're a corporation, and they're going to fight it."