Voting machines prove troubling to maintain

The federal government could decertify the county’s current voting machines.

By MARY GRZEBIENIAK

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

MERCER, Pa. — Mercer County commissioners are facing difficult choices in providing for maintenance for the county’s touch-screen voting machines.

Tuesday, county Director of Registration and Elections Jeff Greenburg reported that Election Systems and Software is offering several options for continued maintenance of machines once the original warranty expires June 30.

One year ago, the Nebraska company sold the county its 290 touch-screen voting machines.

The proposals include two options for three-year contracts. One offers free repair for all machines for a payment of $55 per machine per year or $113,250 for three years. The other option charges $95 per machine for complete preventive maintenance on each machine once yearly or $148,050 for three years. Both those figures also included a fixed amount for software and hardware maintenance.

The county could also send one of its employees to Nebraska for training at a cost which was not available Tuesday. Greenburg expressed a concern that an employee could undergo the expensive training and then obtain employment elsewhere.

Risks of signing

Greenburg said one consideration in signing any long term maintenance contract is that the federal government could decertify the county’s current voting machines.

Commissioner Brian Beader agreed, commenting that a bill currently pending in Congress would make the county’s — and virtually all other Pennsylvania electronic voting machines — unacceptable because they have no verifiable paper audit trail.

The bill, H.R. 811, seeks to restore voter confidence in elections by addressing security concerns of the electronic voting systems which have been introduced throughout the country. Greenburg said the state of Florida has already decertified its touch-screen machines.

Bill Boyle, director of administrative services, said he would like to see an escape clause in any maintenance contract to cover this possibility.

Being careful

The county is especially sensitive to this issue because its first electronic touch-screen machines were decertified and the county is still fighting for reimbursement for their near $1 million cost.

One year ago, under a federal mandate, the county purchased the new ES&S voting machines. However, there is no guarantee that federal lawmakers will not change the rules, rendering the new machines unfit for use.

“What you’re telling us,” said Commissioner Kenneth Seamans to Greenburg, “is that they’ve got us over a barrel.”

Greenburg pointed out, however, that the maintenance contracts do not have to be paid in advance. Only one-third of the cost would be due annually.

Commissioners delayed a decision on the contract.