Like it or not, new voting machines coming

 
By: DAVID OWENS,   Clarksdale Press Register    August 08, 2005 
    
The Coahoma County Board of Supervisors agreed this week to accept the new Diebold voting machines.
However, as District 3 Supervisor Timothy Burrel put it, they didn't have much of a choice.  
 
     
Like the rest of the state, Coahoma County has until Aug. 15 to accept or refuse the new voting machines signed into law by Secretary of State Eric Clark.
Mississippi had until Jan. 1 to switch from the lever machines many counties use and adopt new touch-screen technology.
The change was mandated in the 2002 federal Help Americans Vote Act (HAVA).
If the county had chosen not to accept the machines, they would have still had to meet all HAVA requirements including buying new machines.
Under state contract, all voting machines, software, installation, training, voter education and support and maintenance is included.
According to information obtained from the Secretary's office, the opt-out cost for Coahoma County would have been $215,800.
The county had already been feeling the crunch when it came to a Fiscal Year 2006 budget and, surely, didn't have enough to purchase its own machines.
Circuit Clerk Charles Oakes said the county was "put between a rock and a hard place" when it came to making a decision.
"If we had been given an option, we might have had a chance to do something," he said. "He (Clark) has already signed a legal contract with Diebold."
Oakes said the contract only stipulated that machines would be bought from Diebold, not how many.
A list of machine distribution shows 43 coming Coahoma County's way, but that still is not enough.
"We have to have at least 50," Oakes said. "We're still going to have to buy seven, but it will be at state cost."
Board attorney Tom Ross said accepting the offer would also clear the county of any responsibility if the machines falter.
"Our only choice is to go with the state and let them take all the flak," he said. "If we enter into a contract with a independent, it could cost unknown thousands of dollars."
County Administrator Hugh Jack Stubbs agreed that the county truly had no choice in the matter.
"We can't afford to go our own route," he said. "There are so many roadblocks. My recommendation is to go with the state."
Stubbs also suggested combining or moving voting locations to reduce the number of machines needed.
"If we want to do that, now's the think to think about it," he said. "It would reduce the costs we need for years to come. No matter how few people vote, we still need at least one machine at the precinct."
The board did not reach a decision on closing or moving any precincts, but may still consider doing so in the future.