County gets grant to buy electronic ballot machines

By CHRISTINE S. DIAMOND, The Lufkin Daily News

Thursday, August 04, 2005

Angelina County voters will soon be tapping computer screens instead of penciling in ballots.

The county is scheduled to receive $598,000 in funds designated by the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 to buy electronic ballot machines.

Angelina County Judge Joe Berry approved the acceptance of the grant money Wednesday morning, allowing county election administrator Bill Shanklin "to get the ball rolling." The money will let the county buy "direct recording electronic voting machines" and precinct ballot counters for each precinct. At least one voting machine equipped for disabled voters must be available at every voting precinct by the beginning of next year.

"A lot of the older voters will be resistant at first, but we are required to do it," Berry said of the transition.

A few changes that need to be implemented by Jan. 1, according to the Texas secretary of state, include:

? State and counties must work from a single, centralized, unique statewide voter registration list.

? Each polling place in the state must have at least one accessible voting system.

? New requirements for electronic voting systems, and new voter educational requirements for counties using paper ballot, central count optical scan and punch card voting systems will be in effect.

Berry attributed the push for automated voting to the Florida election problems of November 2000.

"After the Florida debacle the federal government passed the Help America Vote Act," Shanklin said. HAVA "requires a touchscreen apparatus in every precinct after Jan. 1, 2006."

The requirement also applies to water districts, school boards and cities, Shanklin said, but only county governments are eligible for funding. HAVA provided $4 billion in funding nationwide, of which $200 million was sent to Texas, Shanklin said.

"(Other voting entities) will have to buy their own or rent ours," Shanklin said. The recommended rental rate of the machines is 2-10 percent of the cost of the machine ? $3,000, Shanklin said.

The $598,000 will cover everything Angelina County needs to do to comply with upcoming deadlines, Shanklin said.

"We are very fortunate in that we may be able to buy more than one per precinct, which means each party may have one to use," he said.

Only the electronic touch screens will be used during early voting, Shanklin said, as a way to educate the public.

"It is so simple," he said. "It leads you through the ballot. If you over-vote, it tells you and allows you to correct it."

However, "With only one (or two) per precinct, this means we will also have paper ballots, so probably 50 percent of the people will vote on a paper ballot in the interim."

The paper ballots will be counted by the electronic precinct counter, a device that will provide election results within 20 minutes.

"It will be a godsend," Shanklin said.

Shanklin also invited commissioners, Berry and the chairmen of the local political parties to attend upcoming demonstrations to be held later this month by two companies which manufacture the electronic ballot boxes.

"I certainly don't want to make this decision by my lonesome," Shanklin said.

At least one electronic voting machine per precinct will be equipped to assist the hearing impaired and blind, Shanklin said.