Jasper County buys voting machines
Old machines sold back to company at a loss

Oct 7, 2005
By MICHAEL R. SHEA
The Beaufort Gazette

RIDGELAND Jasper voters will have new machines the next time they vote maybe as soon as December but county tax dollars are still paying for the old technology.

The Jasper County Board of Elections and Voter Registration purchased 50 machines and 15 printers in May 2002 from Indianapolis-based MicroVote Generalfor $197,955. The company bought the machines back from the county this week for $25,000. But even with the sale, the county still owes $7,000 on the old machines.

Much of the elections board is new, too. In August 2004, the board was overhauled with re-appointments and resignations. Jeanine Buckner, the current elections director, also took the helm.

After the 2000 presidential election, a Harvard University study named the county elections the worst-run in the country and in the June 2004 primary there were hundreds more votes than actual voters.

But the county's problems had more to do with human error than bad technology. The November 2004 presidential election conducted on the MicroVote machines went off without a hitch.

Buckner said the machines worked fine: "There is someone in Canada who is interested in purchasing them (refurbished from MicroVote)."

State officials decided on a uniform iVotronicsystem, from Michigan-based ES&S Systems, paid for with $36 million from the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002.

The counties have to buy their own software and service: about $2,000 a year for Jasper.

The new machines allow disabled voters to cast ballots without assistance, allow standardized state-run training and let local election officials share tips, said Gary Baum, spokesman for the S.C. State Election Commission.

"They're completely (American with Disabilities Act) compliant," he said.

The County Council, notified of the sale last week, wanted to know if there was a better offer, but Buckner said no one is interested. Both Richland and Colleton counties sold their machines back to MicroVote this month because Internet advertising yielded no offers, she said.

"They backed us into a corner," said Councilman Leroy Blackshear. "They're trying to squeeze our heads."

Jasper voters could test the new machines as soon as December.

Ted Moyd left the Hardeeville City Council last month for a position with the county.

"This office is just responsible for programing the machines," Buckner said of the possible special election. "The municipal election commission will handle everything else. I think they're looking at Dec. 13 if an election is needed."