N.J. seeking federal funds to improve vote system

By THOMAS BARLAS Staff Writer, (609) 272-7201, E-Mail

New Jersey needs a little more than some political duct tape to repair its convoluted election system - it needs money

An estimated $68 million is needed to upgrade voting machines, install new computers and link a system in which election duties are distributed - sometimes disjointedly - between county clerks, boards of election and election superintendents.

Atlantic County alone needs about $2.5 million to replace voting machines and associated equipment so antiquated that replacement parts cannot be found. The problem was so bad during last week's election that the county resorted to a bank of accountants who tallied up vote totals sent in by fax from municipal clerks.

State election officials are banking on millions of dollars from the federal Help America Vote Act to pay for the voting system's upgrade. Money from the act, commonly called HAVA, is expected to create a modern system expected to do everything from reducing voter fraud to making it easier for Joe Citizen to register to vote.

"The whole system should become 21st-century instead of 19th-century," said Ingrid Reed, of Rutgers University's Eagleton Institute of Politics, who is on the state board charged with helping to implement the act.

HAVA gives the states until 2006 to have the new system operational, but there's a lot of work to be done to get the system up and running by that deadline.

For instance, New Jersey already has asked for waivers on some requirements scheduled to be in place for next year.

Some counties - such as Atlantic County - do not want to spend money on election upgrades unless there is some guarantee of reimbursement.

And some critics contend the end result of all the work would not create the sort of one-stop, central election system needed in a state where charges of election fraud are common. That includes Atlantic City, where a run of absentee ballot drives has skewed election results and caused numerous court challenges.

Reed said she understands the concerns, but said the changes being pushed by HAVA will at least be a significant improvement in a state that has overlooked election reform for years.

"We really have to move on this," she said.

HAVA was approved in the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election, whose final result was tainted by a range of problems in Florida. Florida's election results sent Republican George W. Bush to the White House, and Democrat Al Gore back to his home state of Tennessee.

New Jersey's needs under HAVA include:

• $25.8 million to install electronic voting machines in counties - including Cape May and Cumberland counties - currently using mechanical, lever-operated machines.
  
  
• $2.3 million to replace Atlantic County's old electronic voting machines.
  
  
• $75,000 to replace punch-card absentee ballot counters, which are still being used in Cape May County.
  
  
• $20 million for the statewide voter-registration system.
  
  
• $3 million for voter education.
  
  
• $1 million to train election officials.
  
  The core of the project involves a computer system linking offices such as the state's Division of Elections, Motor Vehicle Commission and Department of Health and Senior Services. It also would tie in with the Social Security Administration and the offices of the 21 county clerks and 566 municipal clerks.
  
  HAVA advocates contend linking all those agencies would give election officials better access to information needed to do things such as verify identification, especially for voters moving to new voting districts.
  
  Election officials and poll workers would get more in-depth, uniform training on all aspects of their job.
  
  The state also would undertake what amounts to a significant public relations effort with a broad mission ranging from increasing voter registration to better informing the electorate of polling places.
  
  The need for that public relations effort has been voiced throughout the state's effort to implement HAVA.
  
  For instance, Cape May Point Borough Clerk Connie Mahon said during a regional meeting on HAVA earlier this year that something as simple as better explaining the voting process to students could improve turnout by young voters.
  
  "A lot of high school students don't vote because they simply don't know how," she said. "They don't want to walk in and look stupid."
  
  Reed contends the effort - coupled with d technology - could make New Jersey voters more confident in the state's election system.
  
  "It's basically our government taking responsibility for a better voting system," she said.
  
  To e-mail Thomas Barlas at The Press:
  
  TBarlas@pressofac.com