November 29, 2005

"Voting-machine deadline at risk"

"Secretary of State Bruce McPherson conceded Monday that he might not certify any more electronic voting machines this year, leaving many of the state's 58 counties at risk of missing a Jan. 1 federal deadline requiring upgrades for voters with disabilities.
But McPherson promised that the state would work with federal officials to comply with the Help America Vote Act by the next statewide election in June. He spoke to reporters during a two-day summit on voting systems tests in Sacramento attended by 100 elections officials and experts from throughout the country.

"Jan. 1 might be a difficult date to hit," McPherson said. "But the Department of Justice and others have said you're moving in the right direction ... . We think we are going to be right on target. We hope to be there certainly by June."

HAVA requires by Jan. 1 that voters with disabilities be able to vote independently and privately with at least one accessible machine per polling place. Voting systems also must allow users to review selections before they cast their ballot and inform them if they mistakenly mark off more than one candidate.

The state has certified only one elections system for use by voters with disabilities in the 2006 primary: an optical-scan technology made by Election Systems & Software. Sacramento County is one of at least eight counties planning to meet federal requirements by using the ES&S machines, according to a July secretary of state report."

The article is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at November 29, 2005 07:00 AM