EDITORIAL: Ballot integrity is first

8/16/2005 11:59:56 PM
Daily Journal

Lee County's Board of Supervisors faces an important decision in choosing the brand of voting machines it will use to comply with the Help America Vote Act - a law mandating voting machines nationwide that are easily usable by all voters, including disabled people.

Federal money will pay for the necessary changes, and Mississippi Secretary of State Eric Clark has devised a formula that would pay all the costs for most voting machines needed in most counties. But some counties want additional machines above the formula devised by the secretary of state's office. That expense would fall to the counties.

Clark's goal is a statewide system using Diebold touch-screen machines and paper ballot scanners, but counties can choose other machines/systems meeting federal requirements. A decision in compliance with federal law is required by Jan. 1, 2006 regardless of the system ed.

Clark has set a decision deadline at the end of the business day Friday. Lee County supervisors want additional time, but that request has been denied. As of Tuesday afternoon, 51 counties had chosen officially to accept the Diebold system. Hinds County had opted out, but it has an older Diebold touch-screen system.

Lee County's supervisors want to fully understand what advantages Diebold machines offer over the ES&S precinct ballot scanners used for 12 years without problems.

An ES&S sales representative this week made an offer to upgrade the system with scanners in each precinct that meet HAVA requirements, However, replacing the aging-and-so-far-reliable precinct scanners and adding the HAVA-certified machines would cost more than opting for a Diebold system.

Both systems would be required to interface with the secretary of state's office for statewide voter registration information.

We believe the supervisors also should factor in ballot security. Which of the systems has the better record? Which is more resistant to tampering either at the precinct and courthouse level or by computer hackers?

If an alternate system more expensive than Clark's negotiated, low-bid contract with Diebold is Lee County's choice, why will it be worth the extra start-up costs? What are the long-term maintenance projections? What is the anticipated life of the systems?

Voting integrity is ultimately serious business. Whatever the supervisors' decision, it should be thoroughly, factually documented and explained.

Every vote should count, and the technology making the tallies should be proven accurate and secure beyond reasonable doubt.