Touch-screen system satisfies voters along with poll workers

Some polling stations opened a little late, and results were just minutes later than in the past.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Voters in Trumbull County gave positive reviews to the new touch-screen voting machines, and technical snafus were minimal, elections officials said.
"Most people were like, 'This is really cool,'" said poll worker Jennifer Croyts, who was working at the polling station at Summit Academy on Arbor Avenue Southeast in Warren.
"When they were leaving, they [voters] said they couldn't believe how easy it was," agreed Mary Ann Flaviano, another poll worker at the school. "I think the voters liked it better" than the former system.
One voter agreed. "It was real nice. I had no problem at all," said Bill Moore of Warren after casting his vote at the school. "I like it better than those punch cards."
Poll workers said it seemed like voter turnout was pretty good, noting that it appeared voters were excited to try out the new system.
Rokey W. Suleman II, deputy director of the Trumbull County Board of Elections, said voter turnout in Trumbull County was 49.3 percent, right at the top end of his prediction but most likely higher than the state average.
Technical complications
He said technical snafus slowed voting at a few locations Tuesday morning as poll workers tried to turn on the voting machines and encountered some problems. Some locations opened more than 30 minutes late because of the problems, he said.
In most cases, elections officials talked the workers through the problems, Suleman said. The problems were mostly related to workers being unfamiliar with the equipment and were similar to problems reported around the state with other counties using new voting equipment.
At the close of the election, the voting machines had to be turned in at the elections board with their memory cards inside. The cards were then taken to a computer that tabulated the results.
Suleman said that process took a little longer than the punch-card system because the voting machines have to be handled more gently than the punch cards. A line formed at the elections board with poll workers dropping off their machines.
Nonetheless, he said the final results were available this year at 11:39 p.m., which was only a few minutes later than during last year's general election.
Suleman said four or five machines had to be replaced with spares Tuesday morning, indicating that the eight to 10 extras on hand might not be enough for larger elections in the future.
Leading up to the election, Suleman and Elections Director Kelly S. Pallante put on a concerted effort to train voters, election workers and others in how to use the new equipment.