January 05, 2006

"Deadline passes for compliance with voting act as primary nears"

"Mikel Haas is running out of time and patience, but he says he'll give it one more month before he really starts to panic.

With an April 11 special election fast approaching, the San Diego County registrar of voters still doesn't have any California-certified machines to meet the requirements of the 2002 U.S. Help America Vote Act.

Most counties in California -- and many across the country -- officially fell out of compliance Sunday with rules mandating that election systems be accessible to voters with disabilities. But the San Diego County special election puts Haas at the head of the line when it comes to compliance.

Although the legal deadline has passed, Secretary of State Bruce McPherson has tried to assure county officials and voters that California will resolve its Help America Vote Act issues by the June primary, the first statewide election with federal races.

But McPherson has not certified any new accessible voting machines since August, making some registrars nervous and others downright angry.

"He says we'll be ready by June, but I think there's a lack of understanding that June is here now," said Conny McCormack, president of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials. "It takes months to prepare for an election. We don't have equipment in our offices because it hasn't been ordered or can't be ordered."

For his part, McPherson said at a conference last month that he does not want to sacrifice testing of elections equipment for the sake of meeting a deadline.

McPherson's spokeswoman, Jennifer Kerns, said that at least six election systems are "in the pipeline" and that McPherson is confident multiple options will be available for the June primary.

Posted by Randy Riddle at January 5, 2006 03:15 PM