County election board unanimous on selection of electronic voting machine
CitizensVoice.com February 1, 2006. BY JAMES CONMY STAFF WRITER

WILKES-BARRE — Luzerne County’s 75-year-old voting machines were officially retired Tuesday.

The county’s new, electronic 17-inch touch screens allow residents to scroll through races and candidates, as well as review their ballots, before casting a final vote. The machine will present election options much like an ATM guides customers through financial transactions.

Commissioners Greg Skrepenak, Stephen Urban and Todd Vonderheid make up the three-member election board. They unanimously ed the iVotronic System by Nebraska-based Electronic Systems and Software.

“The machine kind of just takes you by the hand and shows you all of the races and who you can vote for,” Skrepenak said after the board meeting. “There is a real ease of use. It’s bright and easy to see.”

Now that the machine has been ed, county officials must scramble during the next 104 days to ensure the machines are ready to go by the May 16 primary election.

The purchase price has to be negotiated, the machines must be shipped, and election officials and voters must get acclimated to the new system, said Leonard Piazza, director of the county bureau of elections. Advertising and direct mailing could be two methods election officials use to introduce the new machines to voters.

Urban insisted the pending contract with Electronic Systems and Software required the company have the machines in the county’s possession prior to the May 16 election. The commissioner also was assured by solicitor Jim Blaum following the federal mandate to implement electronic voting would not violate a state law requiring voter approval before any change.

The election board was forced to expedite the issue because if the machines were not in place by May 16, the county would risk losing a $3 million federal Help America Vote Act grant.

The ion of iVotronic was not as well received by Pam Smith, a nationwide coordinator for a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to reliable and publicly verifiable elections.

The machine does not allow the county to conduct legitimate audits or recounts, Smith claimed. The machine’s verified paper audit trail component is not state certified. As a result, county officials cannot legally use paper audit trails to back up election results.

If the federal or state government requires a verified paper audit trail, the iVotronic can be upgraded with less cost and difficulty than other systems, Piazza said.

A final price will not be determined until a contract is signed with Electronic Systems and Software. However, Piazza estimates the county will need about 600 machines, at an approximate cost of $1.8 million, or about $3,000 each. Other software and equipment for the bureau of elections office could increase the price tag by $100,000.

jconmy@citizensvoice.com