Wood proceeds with touch screen voting

By PAMELA BRUST    Parkersburgh News and Sentinel    22 October 2005

PARKERSBURG - Wood County commissioners on Thursday took the next step toward purchase of the county's new touch screen elections equipment.

Wood was one of 27 counties in the state that opted to go with the total touch screen technology for elections beginning in 2006. All counties were to notify the secretary of state's office by Oct. 15 of what elections equipment they would be using in order to comply with the federal Help America Vote Act regulations.

According to information from Secretary of State Betty Ireland's office, out of 53 counties, 27 chose touch screen, 27 went for optical scan and one is using paper ballots. Neighboring Calhoun County is listed under optical scan, while Doddridge, Jackson, Pleasants, Ritchie and Wirt will all go with touch screen technology.

Under Ireland's plan, a county could receive an optical scan voting system in addition to the mandated touch screen handicap accessible voting machine per precinct at no cost to the county. If the county chose not to use the optical scan system and implement an all-electronic voting system, the secretary of state would give the county a credit equal to the cost of the optical scan system and apply it to the purchase of the electronic touch screen system. Up to half any additional cost the county must bear could be borrowed from the five-year, no interest HAVA revolving loan fund the state is offering.

The commission voted Thursday to authorize County Commission President Gary Deem to sign the loan agreement on behalf of the county for the elections equipment. Deem said the total loan amount would be $164,220 to purchase 14 Direct Recording Equipment (touch screen units) which are handicapped accessible including headphones for those who are visually impaired, and 140 other touch screens.

The state has agreed to provide 87 of the touch screen units. The total cost for the remaining equipment is $328,441. The county has to come up with half that cost, and is borrowing the remaining half of the price tag from the state at the 0 percent interest rate over five years revolving fund program.

Wood County Clerk Jamie Six explained the actual cost for the 154 machines is $479,500, but with the credits received from the state, the cost is $328,441.

The clerk is also exploring options for sale of the county's privacy booths and related equipment used by voters with the optical scan system the county has been using.

"The scanners we have we have been told are not compatible with the new optical scan system the state has ed, but there should be someone interested in the other equipment," Six said, adding he will be attending a meeting sponsored by the secretary of state's office next month and hopes to test the waters there with his fellow clerks regarding the possible sale of the county's used optical scan equipment.

Wood was one of 28 counties that used optical scan, 12 counties used punch cards including Kanawha, 10 used paper ballots, two used touch screens, and the remainder used the lever system.

"We are very pleased with the response of the county commissions. They had a very hard decision to make, and I have confidence that their choices are best for the voters in their county. My role in this process was to disperse the federal money in a fair and impartial manner and at the same time give the counties choices," Ireland said. Successful vendor, Election Systems & Software was awarded the contract to provide the state its new voting machines.

"We must have the new voting machines in place by Jan. 1, 2006, according to the federal Help American Vote Act," Ireland said.