Louisiana to use same voting machines in all 64 parishes
The Associated Press

October 31, 2005

A California company has been chosen for a $35 million contract to supply Louisiana with 4,000 new voting machines, an upgrade that will lead to voters in all 64 parishes using the same type of touch-screen machine, the state's top elections official said Monday.

Louisiana voters now use one of three voting machines: old-fashioned lever machines or one of two types of touch-screens. Twelve parishes, including Orleans, Caddo and East Baton Rouge, already have the newer machines and need only minor upgrades, to bring them in compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, Secretary of State Al Ater said.

Ater said the contract is worth between $35 million and $40 million in money supplied by the federal government to help states upgrade their systems after election troubles in Florida and elsewhere in the 2000 presidential election.

Negotiations are underway with Oakland, Calif.-based Sequoia Voting Systems, which would also supply about 500 new absentee voting machines. Ater said talks with Sequoia should be complete by the end of the year.