Reply #6: Electronic Voting Machines Greet Voters at the Polls [View All]

[Melissa G]

Colorado..
The Telluride Watch

Published: 8/08/06

Electronic Voting Machines Greet Voters at the Polls
By Josie Jay

Voters heading to the polls for today’s Primary Election will be faced with new technology as electronic voting machines make their debut in San Miguel County. The county purchased six of the machines, one for each precinct, to comply with a state mandate. The federal Help America Vote Act required every polling place to be accessible for people with disabilities by this year’s election.

Each electronic voting machine cost $6,000, limiting the number the county could afford to purchase. “We would like to have at least two per precinct by the general election,” said Jacque Franklin of the County Clerk’s office. With only one electronic machine per precinct, many voters will still be using paper ballots. In fact, if someone wants to vote by paper ballot, they cannot be refused, said Franklin.

The electronic voting machines automatically tally the votes entered into them. To count the paper ballots, the county purchased an electronic counting machine. “It looks like a paper shredder,” said Franklin, an image that may not instill confidence, but the machine should guarantee accuracy.

Paper ballots must be fed into the counting machine one at a time through a slot on the top. The machine reads the ballots, tallies the votes and prints a paper report.

http://www.telluridewatch.com/080806/vote.htm