HAVA has hold on local voting

BY RICK BUTLER

News Editor

As one of 13 Arkansas counties still using punch cards or lever machines for voting, White County now finds itself in the middle of a pilot program designed to help counties come into compliance.

The Help Americans Vote Act, passed in 2002, is designed to make voting equipment more user-friendly for voters. White County Clerk Tanya Burleson has been overseeing presentations from vendors who are vying for the county's business.

Representatives from Diebold Global Elections were in Searcy on Thursday and presented the company's latest model, the TSX.

The voting apparatus works much like a bank's automated teller machine.

Burleson has already seen presentations by ES&S, Sequoia and Hart. The secretary of state's office will make the final decision on ing a company to provide the voting machines.

Burleson said each machine will likely cost between $3,000-3,500 and that both the state and federal governments would be helping with the expense incurred both by the purchases and the training that will be needed. Burleson said there are between 2 and 10 voting machines at each of the 64 polling places in White County.

Burleson said, with filings beginning in May and absentee voting taking place 25 days prior to the elections, the timeframe was important.

"If this is to be implemented by the primaries, we need the money from the government," she said.