Official: Voters shouldn?t fear new ballot system
eSlate machines purchased with $855,000 state grant
By Bill Modisett  Odessa American   05 October 2005

What Ector County voters don?t want to do, Elections Administrator Sharon Wilson said, is show up at the polls Nov. 8 not knowing there?s a ?new kid on the block.?
That new kid is the eSlate electronic voting system, she said, and while it shouldn?t be scary, some people could be unnerved by the change.
Wilson said the system is safe and fast, and the company which produces it, Hart Intercivic, asserts the voting tally is impenetrable by hackers.
Precinct 4 County Commissioner Bob Bryant said he assumes the electronic system is a secure one.
?I believe it?s a great improvement over what we have had in Ector County in the past,? Bryant said. ?And I think once people get used to it they will like it.?
And Wilson said there?s a lot to like.
?People should not fear the change because this is not a computer. It?s an electronic device. It?s like a washing machine,? Wilson said.
?We?ve only heard good comments about the eSlate system,? she said. The machines, she said, are very simple to use.
Yet sometimes it?s difficult to make a smooth transition in voting procedures, she said.
As an example, she cited when Ector County gave up its old paper ballots for the more modern punch card system. People at first didn?t understand it and it scared them.
To help voters ease into the electronic voting system, Wilson said, the elections office will have personnel at the door of each polling place during the amendment election, handing out cards instructing voters in use of the machines.
The personnel will also be on hand to assist voters who need additional instruction, she said.
Ector County bought the 215 eSlate machines, which cost $3,000 each, using an $855,000 grant from the Texas Secretary of State?s office, she said.
The machines, now kept in the elections office, will be delivered to the polling sites by truck just prior to the start of balloting, Wilson said.
Now the name of the game is educating voters so nobody shows up at the polls Nov. 8 not expecting the new system, she said. Wilson said there are fliers, ads, posters and media files being distributed about the change in both English and Spanish.
In addition to that, ?Basically, we?re going to be all over town in October,? she said.
Wilson said one of the eSlate machines is set up in the elections office in the Administration Building Annex at 1010 E. Eighth St. and any voter wanting to familiarize themselves with the new system is welcome to come in and try it out.
Voters may also ?test drive? the eSlate machines by going to www.hartintercivic.com/
files/eSlate.swf.
Wilson said under the new system the voter is first asked to type in their voting number using the ?? wheel and confirming one number at a time by pressing the ?enter? button.
Then the eSlate machine lists each of the offices and the candidates seeking them. By using the ?? wheel, the machine highlights in color the choice of the voter. The voter presses the ?enter? button to make the ion.
The voter cannot cast more than one ballot for any candidate or amendment because the machine automatically changes to another category after the first vote is cast.
After the voter completes his choices, the machine shows a summary screen indicating all the choices ed. If the voter wants to make a change, he may do so at that time using the ?prev? and ?next? keys to navigate.
Once all the choices have been made and verified, the ?cast ballot? button can be pressed.
Wilson said the voter should be certain his ballot is correct as he intended it before mashing that button.
?Once they push that cast ballot button, it?s gone. It?s just like ping your ballot in the ballot box,? she said.
Literature from Hart
Intercivic.com, the manufacturer, asserts the eSlate system is safe because ?eSlate is activated by the voter using a randomly generated four-number code; there are no smart cards or other programmable devices that create a security breach in the system to provide access for creative hackers or others seeking to tamper, subvert, or vandalize the system or the election.?