Let your fingers do the voting
MATT SUMAN, Morning Journal Writer10/13/2005

 ELYRIA Some Lorain County voters who have tested the new touch-screen voting machines think it's easier than the punch-card ballots, but others are not completely confident the Nov. 8 elections the first with the new machines will run smoothly.

Mark Kernohan, of the Public Services Institute at Lorain County Community College, has been showing voters how to use the machines over the past several days. Each voter gets a card with the ballot for that person's precinct to put into the machine, so voters no longer have to vote in certain machines for each precinct. Voters must still vote at their assigned polling station.

''You'll be able to use any of the terminals,'' he said.

The new touch-screens will also be used in Huron County beginning next month, but not in Erie County.

After the voter touches their choice for issues or candidates with their finger, an ''X'' appears to the left of the candidate or issue. The machine does not allow voters to choose more than the appropriate number of choices for each race or issue.

''If you vote for two of two and try to touch a third it doesn't record,'' Kernohan said.

If a person skips voting for all of the possible races or issues, those boxes are highlighted on the screen in the ballot summary.

''It lets you see everybody that you voted for,'' Kernohan said.

If a voter wants to write in a candidate's name, they touch ''write-in'' and a keyboard pops up on the screen. Voters then type in the write-in candidate's name and a ''record'' button.

There is a paper trail that records votes inside the machine in case there are any problems with the hard drive in tallying votes.

The paper is scrolled up and put into a locked case after the vote is complete, Kernohan said.

The machine gives voters the option to ''print'' their ballots, allowing them to double-check their choices. A ballot may be printed only two times before the final ballot must be submitted.

Poll workers clear the cards for the next person after the voter is finished making his or her choices. Kernohan said the county boards of elections will be training poll workers to operate the voter cards.

If a voter tries to use the card after submitting his or her final ballot, the words ''already voted'' will appear on the voting machine screen. Kernohan said people cannot ''hack'' into the machines to alter votes because they are not connected to the Internet.

Jean McConnell, of Pittsfield Township, said she still prefers the punch-card ballots after testing the touch-screen machine at the Pittsfield Township Hall last night. She said older voters who are not familiar with computers could have a trying time voting in November.

''I think I can get along with it okay because I'm used to a computer,'' she said. ''I still like the old way. It's something new, and I'll have to get used to it.''

She said many of her friends who are senior citizens have asked about how to submit absentee ballots.

Ken Kelleher, deputy director of the Lorain County Board of Elections, said those who vote absentee by mail will fill out paper ballots to be counted by optical scan machines. Optical-scan ballots are similar to paper forms used for standardized tests in schools.

Voters who need provisional ballots will still fill out the same paperwork as they did with the punch-card ballots, but provisional ballots and absentee ballots done in person will be done on the touch-screen machines, he said.

Kelleher also recommends that voters familiarize themselves with the five state issues prior to Election Day so they do not have to take a lot of time to read and understand the language.

Amanda Gonzalez, a Lorain County Community College student from Lorain, participated in Kernohan's demonstration on campus yesterday. She said she voted last November with punch-card ballots, but the touch-screen voting is easier.

''I like these better. The whole setup is pretty easy,'' she said.

Gonzalez said she feels more comfortable with the touch-screen voting because if she makes a mistake, she can go back and fix it before submitting the ballot. Gonzalez said she didn't think the touch-screen machines would be difficult to figure out for voters.

Keith Washburn, director of the Lorain County Community College library, said the touch-screen machines were easy to understand after he was given a demonstration yesterday.

''It sure beats the hanging chads,'' he said, referring to the old punch-card ballots.