SLCO to Revisit Resolution Opposing Voting Machine Legislation
None by KCPW
(KCPW News) At least half of the counties in Utah have passed resolutions opposing a federal measure that could make the state's new electronic voting machines obsolete. Salt Lake County is not yet one of them, but tomorrow the County Council will revisit the resolution. They worry the proposed measure could cost the County millions.Activists skeptical of electronic voting say the expense is worth it.
"It costs far less money to use paper ballot systems," says
Kathy Dopp, a local activist and executive director of the National Election Data Archive. "I mean just think of it. Able-bodied voters spend maybe 10 minutes once a year voting. Do we really need a computer to do something that takes us 10 minutes once a year?"
The measure known as the "Voting Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007" was recently amended to appease critics. It would give counties in Utah until 2010 to add a more durable paper printout to existing electronic voting machines. The Salt Lake County Council delayed a vote on the resolution last month in the hope that Congressman Jim Matheson would agree to amend the act in Washington.
A spokesman for Matheson's office says the Congressman is pleased with the recent changes, including a delayed implementation date and significantly more money to help states pay for the new equipment. The spokesman adds that Matheson will not support any measure that requires Utah to scrap the electronic machines it already purchased.
Email to a friendPosted in KCPW Newsroom. Copyright 2009 KCPW
1. Terry Hansen said:
I think the key phrase in this article is: ""It costs far less money to use paper ballot systems," says Kathy Dopp, a local activist and executive director of the National Election Data Archive. "I mean just think of it. Able-bodied voters spend maybe 10 minutes once a year voting. Do we really need a computer to do something that takes us 10 minutes once a year?"
What about the Federal Help America Vote Act that requires disabled individuals to vote independently and with a secret ballot? How is that going to take place with paper ballots?
3. Dwight Gooden said:
June Taylor - While I appreciate your willingness to try to comprehend the Help America Vote Act(HAVA), I apologize that you are so very ignorant of the bill in question. It's sad, actually.
Do yourself a favor: before you vilify those that oppose HAVA, those of who...also work to try get around ways of having to implement that federal act of nonsense - "get in the game!" Posting nonsense on an internet board is about as helpful as a penis on a cow.
2. June Taylor said:
The HAVA enables SOME disabled individuals to vote independently and secretly - namely, those who are visually and hearing-impaired, and those who can wheelchair into the polls. The requirements of HAVA can be met with ONE very expensive electronic voting machine ("DRE") per polling place - all machines in one polling place can bring up the ballot for any precinct at that polling place. And disabled voters are owed the assurance - just like the rest of us - that the votes they cast will be correctly recorded and tabulated. As a poll manager and sometime-software writer, I can attest that the current DREs are under-designed, insecure and overpriced. Yes, they are easy to use. No, they are not tamper-proof, like your ATM machine. Yes, they produce a paper trail - with a cheap, pain-in-the-butt supermarket-type printer, on thermal paper that requires storage at reasonable temperatures. 90% of our problems setting up the DREs at the polls were due to the printers. And anyone with less than 20-20 vision needs a magnifying glass to read the summary of the votes under the little glass window. These machines were a windfall for Diebold and the other DRE manufacturers, with out-year costs for every election, maintenance and storage that were tallied up too late by most jurisdictions. In their current state, none of them are ready for prime time.