Commissioners vote to buy new voting machines for over $1M

BELLEFONTE - It's official - Centre County voters will use pencil and paper to cast their ballots in November.

The county commissioners yesterday agreed to a five-year lease of 100 optical scan units and another 100 similar units for the handicapped, along with support, from Elections Systems and Software for $1,318,000.

The lease will amount to about $275,000 over that period.

The optical card machines are similar to those used in standardized tests, with voters filling in circles on a ballot with a pencil, by hand, and feeding it into the machines. The handicapped machines, the commissioners said, will fill out the forms for those who cannot do so themselves, using "cues" from the voters. Those forms would then be entered by poll workers.

The vote on the initiative was 2-1. Commissioners Jon Eich and Rich Rogers voted for the purchase, saying the new machines will uphold the integrity of the county's elections, while Commissioner Steve Dershem voted against, citing cost concerns.

"Making sure we have elections the public has confidence in the final numbers is a top priority and an essential function of commissioners," Eich said. "I was willing to make the investment because I believe having a paper trail is really the only way to achieve that.

"It's the integrity of the vote that was really my goal and I think we've taken that action to guarantee that in Centre County."

Yesterday's vote came after months of discussions and two weeks after the commissioners agreed to purchase the machines without a price tag involved.

The commissioners said yesterday's vote means the machines will be in before November's general election, which includes the U.S. presidential race and the race between Republican Glenn Thompson and Democrat Mark McCracken to fill the seat of retiring U.S. Rep. John Peterson, R-Pleasantville.

County Administrator Tim Boyde said the purchase price includes $18,500 for installation and set up once the machines arrive, likely late next month. The county will be responsible for purchasing the approximately 90,000 ballots, at 33 cents a ballot, totalling around $30,000 per election.

Eich said several counties have inquired about purchasing the county's current 392 touch-screen machines, likely between $100 and $300 for each machine, which is much less than the cost of between $2,700 and $3,500 per machine when purchased two years ago.

Clinton County Chief Clerk Kathy Conrad reported earlier this week Clinton County is first in line to purchase 17 of the machines to supplement its current allotment of 72 machines.

However, Eich said he's "conservative by nature" and does not want to sell the current machines until the new machines arrive.

Rogers said the county will be able to use about $140,000 in interest gathered from excess funds to purchase the current machines through the federal Help America Vote Act. In addition, he said credits with ES&S and the sale of the current machines should give the county about $250,000 for this year's lease price.

"I understand this isn't a popular decision and everybody's not going to agree. It was very difficult, but the bottom line is I had to look forward." Rogers said, adding he believes the current touch-screen machines will be decertified by the federal government in the next few years.

Dershem, the lone holdover from the previous board of commissioners that bought the current machines, said he voted against the new machines because he doesn't have many concerns with the current system, and the purchase is an unbudgeted item.

"We do have other important issues," he said, pointing to large costs associated with an upgrade of the county's 911 system, health care and retirement plans.

Dershem also pointed out the county only has 84 days to get the system in place and, although he has confidence in the county's poll workers, now is not the time to change technology.

Eich said the county will try to get some machines out in the public for demonstrations before this fall's elections.