Six machines in county board rooms across Ohio are waiting for legal and technical battles to end before one can claim center stage.
The six prototypes of voting machines are being considered as Ohio and the nation replace punch-card balloting. These machines will put an end to hanging chads in the Buckeye state.
The Help America Vote Act, passed in 2002, requires county election boards to phase in electronic voting machines by 2006, said Carlo LoParo, spokesman for Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell.
Electronic voting devices allow voters to punch their votes directly into a computerized terminal while optical-scan devices scan paper ballots, similar to standardized tests, LoParo said.
"It places the responsibility on the state to eliminate punch-card and lever voting," LoParo said.
Ohio counties expect to receive $161 million to fund the voting machine upgrades, $155 million in federal funds and nearly $6 million from the state's pocket, he said.
"We received proposals from 10 vendors in late spring. They were weighed against mandatory criteria, then more selective criteria," LoParo said.
All vendors went through a four-phase evaluation process.
Phase one focused on mandatory requirements, such as experience and ability to satisfy voter capacity. A technical review of prototypes rounded out the second phase. Vendors demonstrated their machines during phase three. The fourth phase evaluated cost proposals. Those vendors emerging from the evaluation process entered into final negotiations and contract terms, LoParo said.
Last month, Blackwell approved four vendors and six machines for consideration by Ohio county election boards, he said. Diebold Elections Systems, Election Systems & Software, Maximus/Hart Intercivic/DFM Associates and Sequoia Voting Systems made the final cut, LoParo said.
"All vendors provide electronic voting devices, but Diebold and ES&S offer precinct-count and optical-scan devices as well," he said.
Sequoia Voting Systems had been removed from the evaluation process because of the excessive cost of their machines, he said. The company filed suit in the Ohio Court of Claims and a lengthy court battle was imminent, LoParo said.
"Secretary Blackwell wanted to put the voters first so he reached an agreement with them," he said.
LoParo said all outstanding legal issues with Sequoia have been resolved.
"Counties are now free to choose which company they would like to supply them with new voting machines," he said.
The secretary of state estimates about three electronic voting devices, or one precinct-count optical-scan device will be needed at each of Ohio's 11,614 precincts, LoParo said. Thus, cost efficiency became a key point, he said.
"We've negotiated best in the nation prices," LoParo said. "From initial to final bids, we've managed to negotiate about $31 million in statewide savings."
Prices for machines include implementation support, software, training of election officials and election day assistance, he said.
"Full warranty on all equipment and software has been included for five years, which includes Election Day maintenance," LoParo said. "Payment to vendors will not be made until a successful election has been reached."
Sixty-nine of Ohio's 88 counties use punch-card ballots, LoParo said.
"Under HAVA, these 69 counties would get first priority for election reform funding," he said. "Sixteen counties want to move forward for March implementation and have requested funding for upgrades for the March 2 primary."
Allison Nicolia, director of Fairfield County Board of Elections, said her county would be one of the counties purchasing voting machines next year.
"We've narrowed it down to three vendors: ES&S, Sequoia and Diebold," Nicolia said.
The public will play an important role in determining the devices that will be used on Election Day, she said.
"There will be education programs to learn how to use them," Nicolia said. "The decision will be based on security, functionality and ease-of-use."
Fairfield County's four-member board will make the final decision, she said.
"As soon as security checks are completed we will make our decision, probably April," Nicolia said.
"We will not see any federal funding for upgrades," said Mike Hackett, deputy director for Franklin County Board of Elections. "We've got until 2005 to make any decisions."
"After the 2004 election, we will sit down and look at the machines," he said.
Franklin County's four-member board will have the final say in what device will replace the older model, Hackett said. With millions of dollars at stake, board members have been warned against accepting gifts from vendors, LoParo said. Nicolia and Hackett both said vendor lobbyists have not been problematic.
"I haven't seen it personally, but I can't speak for other counties," Hackett said. "It helps that we're not buying any machines in 2004."
Nicolia said she hasn't seen many lobbyists because contracts and specifics have already been determined before reaching the county level.
"It's a fixed deal," she said. "You'd have to lobby the secretary of state."
In August, The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported comments made by Walden O'Dell, chief executive of Diebold Inc. and Ohio State Board of Trustees member, in a fund-raising letter to fellow Republicans.
According to The Cleveland Plain Dealer, O'Dell said he is "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year."
Blackwell, also a Republican, made it clear that Diebold, a Canton-based company, has not benefited from its CEO's political ideology, LoParo said.
"Bi-partisan boards select the vendors, and they're free to select any vendor," LoParo said. "It's a safe-guard process. We've documented the entire process."
Counties must now wait for mandatory security reviews of devices and for federal funding promised by HAVA, LoParo said. Deployment of machines is expected to be complete in 90 days, he said. The lack of full funding by Congress has pushed back the implementation date of upgraded devices for many Ohio counties.
The U.S. Senate appropriated an additional $1.5 billion in election machine funding last week. The bill is expected to pass through the House without opposition, he said.
"That's an additional $61 million in election reform money for Ohio," LoParo said. "So help is on the way."
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