October 13, 2005

"Touchscreen optimism grows"

"San Joaquin County's top elections official hopes a recent test of touchscreen voting machines in San Diego will lead to the equipment's certification for June's primary election.

State elections officials in late September tested 100 Diebold TSx machines to monitor how they'd hold up in an actual election, county Registrar of Voters Deborah Hench said. It was the second large-scale examination in three months of the ATM-like machines, which haven't been cleared for use since the March 2004 primary.

More than 1,600 of the TSx machines have sat in a Stockton warehouse awaiting certification since that election. The county agreed to buy the equipment for $5.7 million three years ago, although only $858,000 has actually changed hands, Hench said.

California Secretary of State Bruce McPherson refused to certify the machines after a similar test in Stockton in July exposed paper jams and screen freezing problems. In the most recent exam, however, no freezes and only three jams were reported out of more than 11,000 votes cast, Hench said Wednesday.

"I'm cautiously optimistic," Hench said, adding that "there's a good chance" the machines will be certified.

McPherson on Wednesday acknowledged that the latest test "went better than the one in Stockton" but had no further details on the outcome. A report recommending whether to certify the equipment is expected to be released in the near future, and a decision could be made by late November, he said."

You can read the article here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at October 13, 2005 08:48 AM