County asks residents to test, rate new voting machines
By BRIAN SEALS    Santa Cruz SENTINEL    26 August 2005

As the county readies for new voting systems in 2006, it is asking voters to grade six possible new voting machines.

County Clerk Gail Pellerin?s office will host demonstrations of the machines, aimed at accommodating disabled citizens, Tuesday in Watsonville and Wednesday in Santa Cruz.

But the demonstrations are for all voters as well, while the county mulls updating its voting system.

Residents are being asked to rank the machines by a survey at the demonstrations.

"We?re trying to sift through all the data and make the best decision we can," Pellerin said. "The public is a key part of that."

The six systems are made by Accupoll, Diebold, ES&S, Hart, IVS and Sequoia.

To meet requirements for disabled voters, a machine accommodating them would have to be placed in each of the county?s 165 precincts. 
But simply adding a system that meets disabled needs and keeping the current system for others may not be cost efficient, because they wouldn?t work in conjunction with one another, Pellerin said.

"They aren?t integrated, they don?t talk to each other," she said. "Perhaps now is the time to modernize our voting equipment entirely."

The new voting systems to accommodate the disabled are a requirement of the federal Help America Vote Act. The act requires, among other things, that each precinct be equipped with at least one machine that allows disabled voters to vote privately and unassisted.

The act also requires a "second-chance" opportunity for voters to correct their ballot if it is marked in error.

The law was passed in 2002 in response to the controversial presidential election in Florida in 2000 when candidates Al Gore and George Bush were in a near dead heat and a recount hinged on so-called "hanging chads." Eventually, the U.S. Supreme Court put an end to the squabbling, voting 5-4 to end the recounts, effectively recognizing Bush?s 537-vote lead that gave him Florida and the White House.

Complicating matters in California is a 2004 state law requiring all voting machines to have a verifiable paper trail. Thus far, only two systems have received state approval as being Help America Vote Act and state compliant, the ones made by Sequoia and ES&S.

Sequoia?s system isn?t approved for primary elections, but the company is seeking approval.

The Secretary of State?s Office hopes to approve more, but wants to ensure quality above meeting the looming deadline.

"We?re more concerned about doing it right," spokeswoman Nghia Nguyen Demovic said.

In all, Santa Cruz County has about $3.5 million in state and federal money earmarked for updating machines. The cost facing the county will be known when the companies being considered submit proposals Sept. 6.

A team of county staffers as well as a group of citizens ? representing political parties, the disabled community, senior residents and a string of others ? will offer their comments.

Pellerin will craft a recommendation by late September or early October and the board of supervisors will make the final decision.