Commissioners OK new electronic voting machines

By PATRINA A. BOSTIC     Longview News-Journal   October 28, 2005

Gregg County commissioners on Thursday approved a contract that will take county voters into the electronic age.

Beginning with next year's March primaries, all Gregg County-run balloting will be done on voting machines being purchased from Austin-based Hart Intercivic. The company's eSlate machines allow voters to cast their decisions without paper ballots.

County commissioners agreed to purchase 160 of the machines for $2,500 each. The county received $539,000 from the state in April to pay for the new equipment. Money not spent on the machines can be used for voter education and training.

The contract helps the county meet a federal mandate that all counties have at least one so-called "direct-record" electronic machine at each polling place by Jan. 1 that is accessible to people with disabilities, residents who don't read well and people who don't understand English.

"This is the third change in the history of the county and that is saying a lot when you've got a county that is over 100 years old," said County Judge Bill Stoudt.

Before approving the contract, court members had numerous questions for Elections Administrator Kathryn Nealy and a Hart Intercivic sales manager, including whether the machine would track how a person voted. The answer to that question is no.

"We are all thinking about what the voting public is going to think about this contraption," Commissioner Charles Davis said.

Commissioners Danny Craig and Darryl Primo said they also has concerns about voter privacy, but a Hart Intercivic official said a voter's name never is attached to the electronic ballot.

Commissioners also were concerned about elderly residents who aren't accustomed to dealing with new technology and whether they will feel comfortable with the new machines.

"Once they are instructed on it, they will be very comfortable with it," Nealy said.

One elderly person told her that "'If I have to use it, that's OK as long as you teach me how,'" Nealy said.

Gary Gandy, regional sales manager for Hart Intercivic, said the concern about some elderly residents feeling intimidated by the machines is valid.

"You may have to spend a little more time with them," he said. "Once they've done it, they realize it's very easy."

The commissioners also stressed how important it is for poll workers to be trained on the machines, so they can make voters comfortable.

Craig said some voters might be concerned whether they are going to be rushed while trying to cast their vote.

"I will be looking at this in Gregg County, but particularly in Precinct 4," he said, referring to the area he oversees.

Stoudt told Gandy that all the commissioners were sensitive to the change.

"The bottom line is that we are going to get one shot to make a good impression," he said.

Some officials on the court tested the new machine by casting a mock vote. Stoudt said it was a quick and easy process.

"I think it will be a fairly peaceful change," he concluded.

Officials determined the need for 160 machines based on the last presidential election. The county has 23 polling places.