New voting system under review 
 
BY DIXIE CASSELBURY, Wyoming County Press Examiner 08/24/2005    
  
Registered voters of Wyoming County will soon have a new electronic election system to use when placing their ballot.

The new system is being researched by the Wyoming County Commissioners and is called the AccuVote-TSX. The system will come from the Diebold Election Systems, of Texas.

The unit price will cost an estimated $2,000-$3,000. It will automatically record and store encrypted ballot information and election results as well as feature intelligent voter card technology for unassisted, private voter activation.

Flo Kellet, of the Wyoming County Voter Registration office, said that although the Commissioners have not yet made up their minds on which system will be purchased, she believes that AccuVote_TSX offers the most mobility and therefore seems to be one of great interest to them.

The detachable 10-pound voting tablet should provide curbside voting for persons with limited mobility. This will allow easy accessibility, specifically for the handicapped. Kellet said for this reason, the Commissioners seem to be leaning towards the AccuVote TSX as a favorite.

Kellet said that by January 2006, the entire state of Pennsylvania will need to be in compliance with the HAVA, Help America Vote Act, which was passed by Congress in 2002. The present system, the ES&S (Electronic Systems & Software) does not offer the advanced accessibility that the new system should for handicapped persons.

The AccuVote TSX offers a voice-guidance feature that will enable blind or visually impaired persons to vote unassisted in complete privacy by sequencing through the entire ballot using verbal prompts. The touch-screen can be adjusted to several angles to accommodate voters in wheelchairs and ensure maximum voter privacy. It also can support as many as nine different languages, including character languages.

Kellet was scheduled to pick up a display of the new system and bring it back to the Wyoming County Courthouse this week. The system will be on public display for about a month at the Wyoming County Courthouse, Tunkhannock, as early as September 1.

Although Kellet is not sure when the Commissioners will make their final decision, she did say she was certain that the new system would be in place before the 2006 deadline.