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D-day's here for touch screen
By LISA GREENE, Times Staff Writer Clearwater resident Wayne Erickson didn't try out Pinellas County's new voting machines at any of the 1,100 demonstrations held around the county over the past several months. Instead, Erickson's first experience with the new machine came Friday, when he voted early for Tuesday's primary election. He liked what he found. "I really liked it compared to the punch cards," Erickson said. "About 1,000 percent better." He said there's no doubt that the first countywide election with the new electronic touch screen machines will receive extra scrutiny. "The national media's probably going to be looking at the election pretty hard, to see if there are any hiccups," he said. But Deborah Clark, elections supervisor, said she's ready. The county has signed up about 3,000 poll workers, including 120 county employees who volunteered to help out. Some poll workers have a new designation: "machine managers," a title that comes with extra training. The office's technical experts have tested the county's equipment, including sending 3,000 cartridges of data -- more than what will be sent Tuesday -- through new computer network lines that will transmit voting information Tuesday. Practice machines will be at each precinct, so voters can try them out before they vote. "I think it's going to go well Tuesday," Clark said. "Voters are very positive about the new system. The poll workers have had additional training. We've done everything we could do to get ready for Tuesday." Clark had better be ready, because she's in the spotlight, said political consultant Mary Repper. "This is the big enchilada," Repper said. "She's center stage. She's going to deserve all the praise and she's going to deserve all the criticism." Clark said she knows more attention will be focused on her Tuesday than in past elections. "Absolutely," she said. "I think it will be true for all supervisors of elections in Florida this year. And we know that." But she's not nervous, Clark said. She has too much to do. "We have to be so focused," she said. The past two years haven't been easy ones for the Pinellas elections office. During the 2000 presidential election, Pinellas workers made counting mistakes that changed the initial tally by hundreds of votes. Once it came to buying the new machines, questions were raised about Clark's husband's ties to one voting equipment company. It was then revealed that the would-be project manager in Pinellas had been indicted in a Louisiana procurement fraud scandal. Commissioners had a difficult time with the machines too, reversing course on how to pay the $14-million tab. But the first test of the new machines, in the Clearwater city election in March, was a success. Voters said the machines were easy to use. Only a few glitches occurred, and those affected only a few results. Clearwater lawyer Ed Armstrong, a well-known Republican political operative, said he thinks the machines will work as promised Tuesday. Clark's staff has toted the new machines across the county, he said. "You can't go to a public function with more than four people and not see a machine," he said. Voters use the machines by touching the screens, much like some ATMs, to pick their candidates. Votes are recorded and stored in an electronic cartridge. At the end of the day, poll workers remove the cartridges, which are then put into electronic readers to transfer the votes to a computer. Poll workers in central Pinellas will take cartridges to the Election Service Center off 49th Street. At the north and south ends of the county, they'll go to a satellite office, where data will be transmitted to the service center through a high-speed cable line. The transmission will be on a proprietary network, more secure than the Internet. This will be the first real-world test of the remote sites. Technology workers have tested the networks repeatedly, including the cartridge tests, said Jim Armstrong, the office's information technology manager. Tuesday night, data from 1,910 cartridges will be sent remotely, while 1,398 will be brought to the service center. Five computers and readers will be at each remote office. As results come in, they will be posted on the Internet at the election office's Web site, http://www.co.pinellas.fl.us/soe/. Tuesday's election also will be more complex than Clearwater's because there are more candidates. The ballot fills four computer screens, so voters will have to press a button saying "next" several times. Clearwater's ballot had only one screen. But Clark thinks that won't be a problem. A Pinellas Park family voting Friday also said the machines are easy to use. "It was great," said Alice Seiple, who voted with her 3-year-old son, Caleb, looking on. "I loved it. This was so simple." Seiple and her parents, John and Margaret Schluter, all said the machines are an improvement. The review screen, which shows voters the candidates they selected, was a plus. Seiple said she liked being able to change her choices. The system won't allow voters to pick too many candidates in any race. That was a problem in the 2000 election, when many ballots were discounted because the voter "overvoted." County Judge Patrick Caddell chairs the county's canvassing board and led a citizens' panel that recommended the Sequoia Voting Systems machines to commissioners. Caddell said his main concern Tuesday isn't the machines. It's his perennial worry: voter turnout. "As always, the real battle is getting people to come out and vote," he said. Erickson said he hopes the new machines won't keep anyone away from the polls. "I hope people aren't afraid of these machines," he said. "I hope they come in, give it a shot and see how easy it is." Touch screen voting questions and answers:Q: I've never voted on a touch screen machine. Can somebody help me? A: Yes. Near the entrance to each precinct a poll worker has been assigned to demonstrate the new machines to each voter. Also, a roving poll worker has been assigned to help voters once they've arrived at a machine. Just ask for help. In addition, anyone may bring someone along to assist them. If you haven't notified the elections office in advance, you'll be asked to complete and sign an "affirmation." Your assuistant may be anyone you choose or two poll workers, most likely one from each major party. Q: It might take me a while to figure out the new machine. Is there a time limit? A: Not any more. Q: They want me to insert an "activation card" before I vote. Doesn't that have my name on it, and won't it tell people how I voted? A: No. The card does not contain names or votes. Its only function is to call up the correct ballot on the screen. Q: How is my vote counted? A: Your vote is recorded inside the machine and retrieved at the end of the day by poll workers. Like the old system, no one can tell how you voted. Q: Won't a power outage cancel everything on the machine, including my vote? A: No. Backup batteries in each machine have enough power to keep them going for hours in an emergency. Q: What if my name is not on the register? A: Poll workers are supposed to make every effort to solve the problem. You may be at the wrong precinct. You may not have registered. Some other glitch may have occurred. A poll worker may phone the elections office. In any case, the new Florida elections law guarantees that you can't be turned away. The last resort is a "provisional ballot," a paper ballot that you complete and drop into a box at the polling place. However, it will not count unless election officials later determine that you are registered and you were at the correct polling place.
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From the Times North Pinellas desks |
