Poll workers train on electronic voting

Voters may still not know winners on election night.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- The good news is that Columbiana County voters should know election results quickly on election night because of a new electronic voting system.
The bad news is that state law will now require a 10-day waiting period after an election before walk-in and absentee votes are counted.
John Payne, county elections board director, explained the changes Thursday while training the first poll workers who will use the new machines.
"The reason we are doing this is because of Florida 2000," Payne said.
A dispute over punch ballots in that state resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court's deciding the presidential race and issuing a mandate for electronic voting.
The county replaced its punch-card ballots with about $1.2 million of electronic scanners from Election Systems & amp; Software, based in Omaha, Neb. Payne said the first use of the machines next month for a Minerva school levy also will be a dry run for full elections.
Practice session
The board's consultant, Brandon M. Sandlin of Triad GSA in Xenia, took workers through the 16-step set-up process for the scanners, saying, "It's pretty easy to use."
Payne said the new system "puts more on the voter."
Voters had been given a ballot in a folder, punched it in a booth and gave the ballot and folder back to poll workers.
In the new system, voters will still get a ballot in a folder but will have to fill in a circle for a candidate or issue. Blue or black ink or pencil will register on the scanner, but red and green ink will not. Elections workers plan to have spare pens.
After marking the ballot, the voter will take the ballot in the folder to the scanner on top of the ballot box. Voters must remove a stub from the ballot and put it into a bag taped to the machine. The scanner can't read the ballot with the stub attached.
Once the stub is removed, the scanner can read the ballot any way the voter puts it in. The scanner screen will then ask if the voter wants to submit his vote by pressing a button on the screen.
If the voter made a mistake, such as drawing a ring around the circle for a candidate, the screen will say there is a problem.
Layers of security
The system has multiple layers of security. The scanner is operated with a key, and the ballot box is locked.
The scanner has a card that reflects the races and issues in that precinct. The card is protected by a numbered seal. When voting is completed, the card will be put into a sealed envelope and returned to the elections board for counting. The ballots will be put in a sealed case and returned to the elections board.
When the scanner is first turned on, it will print out a list of the issues and candidates. When voting ends, the scanner will print out the number of ballots, which will be signed by poll workers and returned, along with the first list, to the elections board. The machine also will print a final report that will be posted on the door of the polling place.
Payne said the new system is hacker-proof. The machines will never be tied into a system outside the elections board.
In case of a challenge, the ballot number and stub will show if -- but not how -- a person voted.
Walk-in votes will be kept in a separate portion of the ballot box. The board will have a 10-day period after the election to determine if people who walked in to vote may also have voted by absentee ballot.
wilkinson@vindy.com