MAHONING VALLEY Officials to pick voting systems

Mahoning County made the transition to new machines two elections ago.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
Next month, elections officials in Trumbull and Columbiana counties will choose new voting machines that may be in use in some precincts by the November election.
The machines, which will likely either employ touch screens or slips of paper scanned by computer, are to replace all punch-card machines by the 2004 presidential election, said Ohio Secretary of State spokesman James Lee.
If local elections boards don't pick a new system off a list provided by the secretary of state by Aug. 1, that office will choose one for them.
"We will do what the secretary of state wants us to do, although we never had a problem with punch cards," said Lois Gall, deputy director of the Columbiana County Board of Elections.
Under the federal Help America Vote Act, passed in the wake of the 2002 presidential election and the national debate over punch cards' hanging, pregnant and dimpled chads, feds are to pay 95 percent of the cost to replace punch-card ballots still used in 69 of Ohio's 88 counties with newer technology. The state pays the remaining 5 percent.
"We have no choice," said Craig Bonar, a member of the Trumbull County Board of Elections. "The good news is, they are paying for them."
What's covered
Federal and state funds will cover not only the cost of the machines, but also training for poll workers and voter education, including public demonstrations and opportunities for voters to try machines before an election, he said.
Trumbull County is considering getting at least a few machines in service for the coming November election.
Whatever system is chosen, the secretary of state requires it to give voters the chance to review their ballots before they are cast to make sure there are no mistakes.
Local officials also have to provide at least one handicap-accessible machine at each polling station.
Even before the 2000 election, Mahoning County had a relatively fancy system, using slips of paper optically scanned by computer, so it wasn't eligible for the free upgrade.
The board there may get funds to buy handicap-accessible machines, however, said director Michael V. Sciortino.
The Mahoning County Board of Elections spent $2.9 million in 2001 to replace the optical-scan system with touch-screen machines it felt were less error-prone.
The computerized system has now been used in two Mahoning elections.
The screen works like a microwave oven. Voters simply touch the box next to the name of the candidate or issue and an "x" appears. After going through the entire ballot, before casting it, voters can review their choices and change them if they wish by simply pressing another choice. Pressing the "vote" button registers that person's entire ballot in the machine.
After the polls close, the votes from each machine are recorded on a master unit about the size of a wallet. From there, they are fed into the master computers at the board offices.
"Transition is always difficult," Sciortino said. "The most important element to a smooth transition is training, not only for the board staff, but most importantly, for the voters."
siff@vindy.com