76 counties sign up for voting machines

Remaining six turn down offer since they already have machines that comply with law

By Laura Hipp
lhipp@clarionledger.com
And Josh Cogswell
jcogswell@clarionledger.com

Only six Mississippi counties chose to opt out of a $22.5 million state contract with Diebold to buy voting machines. The contract, signed in July, is part of the state's effort to comply with the Help America Vote Act.
Counties that opted out were: Hinds, Rankin, Desoto, Jackson, Lee and Yalobusha.

 
Most of Mississippi's 82 counties joined a $22.5 million state contract to purchase voting machines after the deadline for a decision passed Friday.

Secretary of State Eric Clark said in a statement that 76 counties had enlisted. "They will produce the most accurate election results in the history of Mississippi," he said.

But five of the state's most populated counties ? Hinds, Rankin, Jackson, Desoto and Lee ? chose not to participate in the state program. Rural Yalobusha County in north Mississippi also chose to opt out.

That could raise the per unit price of the machines from $2,905 to more than $3,200.

Clark was not available for questions.

The contract, signed in July, is part of the state's effort to comply with the Help America Vote Act, a federal voter reform law. Counties opting out of the program may take a smaller cash payment and design their own plan to comply with federal law by 2006.

Several counties that opted out of the program, such as Desoto, Hinds and Rankin, already had voting machines that complied with federal law.

Rankin County supervisors decided Friday to stick with 268 voting machines they purchased in 2002 for almost $700,000.

"The board has already spent a significant amount of taxpayer money on voting machines," Board Attorney David Morrow said. "The best use of that money is to keep what we already had."

The state offered Rankin County 217 machines, but supervisors would need to buy about 50 more, costing $200,000, said County Administrator Norman McLeod.

Morrow said the county looked into selling the machines but could not find a buyer.

In the four elections voters have used the machines, the county has encountered "few, if any" problems, McLeod said.

Choctaw County in north Mississippi chose to participate in the state program and is planning ways to educate the public on using the new machines.

"This is all new to most counties in the state," said Choctaw County Board of Supervisors President Kay Bowie. "I think it will go over all right."

More than 6,000 registered voters in Choctaw County will have several chances to practice voting on the machines before an election, said Bowie, an Ackerman resident.

The state will give the county 19 machines, and supervisors will buy about 10 more for almost $28,000, Bowie said.

The state's ion of Diebold voting machines has drawn mixed reviews.

Ann Williams, chairwoman of the Mississippi Democratic Club, cites studies by universities nationwide that question the reliability of voting machines.

"Why would we want to use a machine and risk our right to vote?" Williams asked. "It's like way too much sugar for a dime."

Many disabled voters have welcomed the new machines that make choosing political candidates more private, said Christy Dunaway, executive director of Living Independence for Everyone.

Members of LIFE, a nonprofit that represents Mississippians with disabilities, wrote letters to newspapers around the state, urging counties to join the program.

"I think a lot of people with disabilities don't vote because it's too much of a hassle," Dunaway said.