Counties to use old voting machines for 3 more years

By Jamie Hsiung
Daily Bruin Contributor

When the March 5 primary election arrives, nine Californian
counties ““ including Los Angeles ““ will still be using
the same punch-card voting machines that gave Florida its fair
share of headaches during the 2000 presidential election.

But by 2005, Secretary of State Bill Jones will discontinue two
types of punch-card machines: Pollstar and Votomatic.

According to Shad Balch, a spokesman for Jones, the nine
counties won’t be using the newer, electronic-based touch
screen machines and optical scan voting models until Jan. 1,
2005.

To Dan Tokaji, staff attorney of the American Civil Liberties
Union, 2005 is too late for California to be replacing their
machines. Voters who use the Pollstar and Votomatic machines are
more likely to have their votes discarded, he said.

“California has been slow to replace their voting machines
when compared to the rest of the states. Florida will have made the
conversion by ’02 this year. And Georgia will be finished in
2004,” he said.

In California, Kristin Heffron, chief deputy for the registrar
and recorder of L.A. County, is looking forward to a smooth
election, in spite of using the old punch card machines.

“I don’t anticipate any problems. We had a smooth
running with the presidential election, and California has a good
record with the punch card machines,” she said.

Shortly after the recounted votes of the 2000 presidential
election, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against Jones in April 2001 to
decertify the punch card voting machines and replace them with more
reliable systems like the touch-screen models and the optical scan
machines, which function like multiple choice Scantron tests.

Meanwhile, touch screen machines, which function like automated
teller machines, have all the qualities of a good voting machine,
Balch said. The voter’s touch would be recorded at the
polling place and tabulated at the county recorder’s
office.

“There are so many reasons why they should all be replaced
by touch screens,” Balch said. “Candidates can review
the ballot; there are headsets for the handicapped as well as
Braille.”

Democratic Primary candidate Chuck Pineda said touch screen
machines are more accurate than any other mechanism. But there is
one drawback:

“It’s tremendous for the computer literate group,
but seniors ““ who have the best voting records ““ a lot
aren’t familiar with computers,” he said.

Some UCLA students remain skeptical that new electronic voting
is the solution.

“I think we should keep the chads. They’ve been
around for years, and people are familiar with them,” said
Brian Won, a fourth-year geography student. “Technology is
reliable, but humans cause the most problems ““ it’s all
up to the voter to touch the right button.”

UCLA political science professor Thomas Schwartz expressed
concern about the new system’s security.

“Every computer hacker in the state would be after
it,” he said. “What if it crashes?”

Michelle Townsend, the registrar of Riverside County ““ the
only county in California to use the touch screen system ““
said the new equipment performed beautifully in its debut in the
2000 primary election.

After passing inspection in the Secretary of State’s
Office, the machines are then used in four municipal elections to
further test for accuracy.

“They’re redundantly backed up,” Townsend
said.

Though both the ACLU and members of Bill Jones’ party
believe insufficient funds play an important role in the delay,
Tokaji was quick to add that counties aren’t going to change
their machines unless they’re forced to.

Currently, counties provide the funds to purchase new voting
systems, with touch-screen machines costing $2,000 to $3,000 each.
Riverside County has 4,250 machines.

Because counties would be paying $13-$15 million for these new
machines, they are hoping that state and federal governments will
lend a hand.

“There would be a compromise,” Balch said.
“Counties would need to cut funding on education, maintenance
and other programs.”

The idea of a compromise is accepted by some UCLA students like
Jeff Wilcox, a second-year chemical engineering student.

“If things will improve, then there should be some
sacrifice to ensure better voting,” he said.

Balch remains hopeful that there will be federal aid. A grant of
$3 million for new voting machines introduced by Congressmen Bob
Ney and Steny Hoyer passed in the House, but it still requires the
approval of the Senate and the President.

If potential federal funds fall through, Proposition 41, a state
bond for $200 million, might provide the relief.