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After reviewing paper-trail voting machine options Wednesday night, Bear Creek Village resident Mary Ann Murphy concluded Luzerne County should choose one that allows voters to continue making their selections on touchscreens.
“I think it would be an easier transition because that’s the way we vote now,” she said during the public demonstration at the Luzerne County Courthouse. “I also think it would be easier for poll workers.”
There are two ways to meet a state-mandated paper-trail requirement — filling in ovals on actual paper or making selections on a computerized ballot-marking device similar to the current system, with the difference that voters must receive a paper printout to verify their selections.
The paper ballots or printouts are then fed into a tabulator to be read and saved.
Both types of machines were on display at the demonstration. The participating vendors: Clear Ballot Group, Dominion Voting Systems, Election Systems and Software (ES&S), Hart InterCivic and Unisyn Voting Solutions.
Murphy and her husband, Jim, said they could not recommend a particular model because they did not believe one practice vote on each would provide enough information to sort through all the pros and cons.
Attendee Phyllis Dietterick, a judge of elections in Salem Township, said she also prefers the touchscreen voting and liked several systems.
While the concepts were the same, each had unique features highlighted by company representatives, she said.
“It’s going to be a tough decision,” said Dietterick.
Her checklist would include machines with well-lit screens that are simple to use and efficient for hurried voters. While the courthouse may be darker inside than some polling places, she envisioned voters struggling to see and fumbling to fill out the ovals on paper ballots.
Cost also should be a top consideration, she said.
“We don’t want our taxes to rise,” said Dietterick.
‘Beautiful machine’
Butler Township residents Bob Toth and his father, Bob Toth Sr., also serve as poll workers and were most impressed with one of three options demonstrated by ES&S.
It was an all-in-one ballot marking device with a 32-inch screen big enough to fit the entire ballot, eliminating the need to scroll through pages. The paper summary of their selections that printed out remained behind a see-through cover so it could be verified by voters without them touching it. If satisfied, the voter hits a button, and the machine sucks it into a box inside the machine for safekeeping. It is even outfitted with its own surrounding curtain, harkening back to the privacy of voting on the county’s old lever machines.
While this machine is more expensive — the specifics would be known through public bidding — the Toths said the cost may equal out in the end because fewer of this type of machine may be needed.
“It’s a beautiful machine, and it is so voter-friendly, especially for the elderly,” the younger Toth said.
The state informed counties last April they must select new paper-trail machines by the end of 2019 and start using them by the 2020 primary if activation by the November 2019 general election is not feasible.
County Manager C. David Pedri said during the demonstration he is hopeful a decision on the machines can be reached by September, although he is not sure if it will be possible to start using the new equipment by the November general. He also wants to explore joint buying with other counties that select the same machine model to obtain lower bulk purchase pricing.
The administration is drafting a request seeking proposals from interested vendors that should be publicly released this spring, Pedri said.
Council Chairman Tim McGinley, who also checked out the machines Wednesday, said he has asked the administration to publicly brief council on the proposed request before it is advertised to vendors, noting council members may have suggestions or recommendations.
He also wants the administration to inform council of the procedure it plans to use to screen responses and come up with a recommendation. Council would ultimately have to approve a contract.
“I want to keep this as open to the public as possible,” McGinley said.
The new voting machines have been estimated to cost $4 million. County officials have said they don’t want to proceed with a purchase until they determine what, if any, state funding will be provided. The county has received a commitment of $327,000 in federal funding for new voting machines.
