Touch voting machines to remain

By Nicole Young
The Huntington Herald-Dispatch    13 October 2005

HUNTINGTON Cabell County Commissioners decided Wednesday that voters will be casting their ballots via touch screen machines, even though more than $250,000 is needed to upgrade obsolete software.

The county's computerized touch screen system, which has been used for the past two elections, was rendered useless by new election laws, because the system did not produce a ballot-by-ballot paper trail.
Commissioners had until Friday to decide whether to upgrade software on the machines or accept the free optical scan voting method from the state. The optical scan method involves a pen and bubble sheet, similar to that of a standardized test.

Cabell County Commissioner Scott Bias said that although the touch screen system might be more expensive, it will eventually pay for itself.

"By the time we would have had to buy the paper ballots for the next couple elections, it would have equaled the cost of the touch screens," he said. "The paper ballots, even with the optical scanner, can create problems. The touch screens make it a lot easier for recounts and corrections."

While commissioners unanimously agreed on continuing use of the touch screens, there are still details that have not been finalized by the county, Bias said.
Neither the $266,000 loan from the Secretary of State's office nor a written contract from the company that sells the touch screens have been obtained by the county, he said.

However, Election Systems & Software has verbally agreed to significantly reduce the cost of d software for the county. Cabell County also will be applying for a $133,000 loan and a $133,000 waiver from the Secretary of State's office, he said.

With a tight schedule for approving voting methods, Cabell County should know within 30 days if the loan for the new software will be approved, Bias said.

Currently, Marion County is the only other county in West Virginia using the touch screen system, Commission President Bob Bailey said. The machines' greatest advantage is their ease of use, he said.

"If you can read the names on it, you can operate the machines," Bias said. "They are real friendly to the
voters."