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Success with the New
Voting Machines
Posted 6-13-2006
The 2006 primary election
is over, the vote totals have been certified and made official, and it
appears our new electronic voting machines worked. Of course, no one
ever knows what is in store for future elections, but it appears that
other than a few minor glitches on Election Day, things went off without
any major problems.
By now, the story of why
the county switched to electronic voting systems is well known. After
the 2000 presidential election and all the voting irregularities in
Florida, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). The goal of
the legislation was to bring some sense of uniformity to the voting
process, even though states are responsible for elections and counties
are responsible for actually conducting elections. The federal
government began a process of certifying certain types of electronic
voting machines, followed by states conducting their own certification
process. Federal money to purchase new voting machines was allocated to
the states.
Late last year in
Westmoreland County, we put together a group of citizens and employees
to evaluate the various certified machines and decided on the iVotronic
touch-screen system from ES&S -- the nation's largest manufacturer of
voting machines. We felt there were many advantages of this particular
machine over the others, and through the first run the machines seemed
to have worked well.
We all were aware of the
skepticism about electronic machines, and admittedly some of that
skepticism is warranted. Outcomes of the last two presidential elections
raised eyebrows throughout the country when votes were not counted
properly, or in some cases counted at all. Some of those problems could
possibly have been the results of faulty equipment, but it is much more
likely the questionable results were the consequence of human efforts
rather than the result of technological shortcomings. No doubt machines
will at times malfunction, but technology has improved to the point
where electronic machines can deliver accurate results.
Once we knew the 2006
primary would be conducted with new touch-screen machines, the county
began a rigorous voter education process. We wanted not only to educate
voters on how to operate the machines when they cast their votes, but we
also wanted to alleviate voter apprehension about the new technology. As
it turns out from the feedback we've received, the new machines may
actually be easier to use than the 45-year-old lever machines they
replaced. I always found the names on the ballot harder to read with the
old machines than they are on the new machines. With the color
background and larger print size, the names are now easier to read.
Also, "write-in" votes are easier to do, and seeing and reading
referendum questions are easier with the new machines.
The county's Election
Bureau staff, under the direction of Paula Pedicone, was assisted
closely by our information systems department that had a cadre of people
throughout the county on election day to ensure quick resolution to any
problems. We had the county divided into areas for the staffers to
cover, and we experienced no major problems. The issues we did
experience were solved quickly, and, most importantly, no one to my
knowledge missed an opportunity to cast a vote. Also, we conducted
training for the people who work inside the polling places, and the
feedback to this point has all been favorable.
Tallying up votes after
the polls close is much easier now, and many precinct workers, who were
used to counting votes until midnight or later, were headed home before
9:00. The one major issue we had was a traffic jam at the Courthouse
when nearly all the workers delivering results showed up in Greensburg
at about the same time. They normally park inside the Courthouse and
were stuck in the street waiting to get inside the building and park. We
will study alternatives in preparation for the November election to
allow for a more convenient and orderly process for election workers to
return the results to the Courthouse.
I realize it was only one
election, but the equipment delivered accurate results quickly. It was a
team effort between our Election Bureau staff, our information systems
staff, and the hundreds of Election Day workers from the county's 306
precincts who allowed the first election with our new touch-screen
machines to run so smoothly.
And I would be remiss in
not mentioning that only 20 percent of the county's eligible voters
turned out to vote in May. For those who may have stayed home because of
consternation about the new machines, rest assured the voting process is
easy and reliable. Remember to vote November 7.
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