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Spotsylvania County voters will be using touch-screen voting machines in upcoming elections. Date published: 4/4/2006
By GEORGE WHITEHURST Spotsylvania County voters should have an easier time casting their ballots in the June 13 Democratic primary. The county has received 145 computerized, touch-screen voting machines. The machines will get their first full-fledged road test in the primary. The machines were manufactured by Advanced Voting Solutions of Frisco, Texas. Spotsylvania Registrar Shirley Boggs said the price tag for the machines, training for poll workers and related equipment runs at $494,465. All of the money came from the federal government, and no county funds were used. Spotsylvania purchased the machines to comply with the Help America Vote Act of 2002, which decreed that localities purchase modern voting equipment, simplify the voting process whenever possible and make voting easier for the handicapped. The so-called WINVote machines purchased by the county will replace optically scanned ballots on which voters indicated their choices by using a pencil mark to connect two halves of an arrow next to a candidate's name. On the WINVote machines, voters will touch the name of the candidates or ballot issues for which they wish to vote. A red "X" will appear next to each choice. The system will allow voters to review their choices and make changes if they wish. Ingrid Giordano, a sales representative and regional project manager for AVS, said WINVote machines are used across Virginia, including in the city of Richmond and Fairfax and Arlington counties. The machines have internal batteries that can allow them to be taken to the cars of those who qualify for curbside voting. The batteries can last for several hours, in case of power outages at a polling station. If a recount is required, the machines can produce paper copies of each ballot cast. Giordano said the machines also feature multiple memory backups and security systems to prevent tampering. "There's quite a bit of security built into this system that does limit who has access to it," she said. "It would never be hooked up to the Internet. There's no interface for anybody other than officers of elections and the voters. If a machine were either unintentionally or maliciously damaged, no ballots are lost or compromised in any way." Groups and organizations can arrange a demonstration of the WINVote machines by calling the registrar's office at 540/507-7380. In order to vote in the June primary, voters must be registered by May 15. To reach GEORGE WHITEHURST:
1. Be respectful. No personal attacks.
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