Bloomington gets voting machine money

By Rebecca Loda
rloda@pantagraph.com

BLOOMINGTON The Bloomington Election Commission is the first in the state to receive federal money for a new optical-scan voting system.

Jesse Smart, vice chairman of the Illinois State Board of Elections and former Bloomington mayor, presented the $130,818 check to the commission Tuesday morning.

"Everybody now has a new reason to vote to see the new machines," said Smart.

The federal funds, which came through the federal Help America Vote Act, will help cover the nearly $175,000 cost of the 26 new machines.

The federal law mandated voting changes after "hanging chads" in Florida's punch-card system ledto tabulatingerrors in the 2000 presidential election and highlighted flaws in such voting systems.

"Hopefully, all the conversions will be made by 2006," said Smart, who said Illinois received $33 million through the federal program. "We're hoping it makes all the elections in Illinois run smoothly."

Smart said reimbursement would normally be a two-step process. But because the Bloomington commission acted quickly and had already purchased the equipment, they received one check for the full amount.

McLean County is currently seeking bids on optical-scan voting systems. The county handles elections outside the city of Bloomington.

The new machines in Bloomington already have been purchased and will be used for the first time in the March 16 primary. Training for election judges will begin next month, said commission Chairman Esaw Peterson.

"It's going to work out well," he said. "We do a heck of a job training. ... We have a dedicated core of judges. Anyone who has any anxiety about the new equipment, we'll set their mind at ease."

Bloomington commissioners noted there have been no major problems locally with the punch-card system, which was in place for 36 years.

"It's making a good system better," Peterson said. "The improvement will almost be transparent because we had no major problems before."

But the new system does have advantages.

In the new system, voters fill in ovals corresponding with the candidates of their choice. The ballot is ed into a tabulating machine, which includes a screen that will let voters know whether their ballot is accepted.

If it is rejected, a new ballot can be provided by an election judge.

"This gives them an opportunity to correct it," said Char Stanford, executive director of the commission.

A new machine for voters with disabilities will not be ready for use in the March primary.

Smart said the state expects to receive additional federal money that could be used to provide a machine for disabled voters in every Illinois precinct.