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Commissioner Balya's
Mayors' Forum Educates Local Mayors on New Voting Equipment
Posted 04-05-2006
The latest in a series of forums for Westmoreland County's mayors,
hosted by County Commissioner Tom Balya, educated city and borough
leaders on the county's new electronic voting machines.
"The
most pressing issue facing county government today is making sure
residents are comfortable with our new voting machines," Commissioner
Balya said. "Local mayors are a great resource to help allay any
uneasiness residents in their communities may have with the new
equipment. My recent mayors' forum was essentially the kick-off event in
a series of public events we recently scheduled to expose as many voters
as we can to the new machines."
The mayor's forum was held
Saturday, April 1, in Greensburg, and was attended by mayors from 16
communities. Every mayor had the opportunity to sample vote on the
equipment. The
county's new machines are the result of the federal Help America Vote
Act that required counties to switch to electronic voting systems. Using
federal grant money, the county is purchasing 750 "iVotronic" voting
machines from Election Systems and Software that will be used for the
first time in Westmoreland County during the May 16 primary election.
The county recently
announced a public demonstration schedule for the new voting machines.
Events will be held at various locations throughout the county leading
up to the primary election. The schedule is available through the
Westmoreland County home page at
www.co.westmoreland.pa.us. Residents can also contact Commissioner
Balya's office at 724.830.3100 for information about the demonstration
events. Since 1996,
Commissioner Balya has sponsored mayors’ forums at least three times per
year at various locations throughout Westmoreland County. |
