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Home > Archive > Nov 9, 2006

Early Voters Get First Tryout of New Voting Machines
By Calvin R. Robison
Washington County Clerk/Auditor

An exciting and historic evolution in the voting methodology of Washington County was put in place for the 2006 elections.

The state of Utah entered into a contract with Diebold Election Systems to provide AccuVote TSX with attached printers. First used for the primary election in June, the electronic touch-screen voting system simplifies the voting process and speeds up the counting process on election night.

The U.S. Congress passed the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), directing all states to use voting equipment that meets specific requirements in federal elections, including accommodating voters who are blind and deaf. The deadline for these requirements was the 2006 election.

Since our old system was inadequate to meet these requirements, Washington County upgraded to touch screen equipment for our election process this year. The machines also have an audio function to assist vision-impaired voters. The federal government appropriated money toward a major part of the initial cost of the mandated equipment. Washington County used the federal funds to acquire 345 voting machines, at $3,000 each.

In order to allow all voters to cast their ballots using the machines, some precincts have been combined into one polling place, such as in La Verkin. Forty-five polling locations will serve the county’s 79 precincts.

The right to vote is the responsibility and privilege of every American citizen. Most of the world’s citizens do not have the opportunity to pick individuals to represent them, as we do. To make the voting process valid, though, it is essential for voters to study the issues and candidates before going to the polls in order to know who and what they are voting for.
The new equipment will make voting easier and less confusing, and it will speed up the results once the voting centers are closed.

The other major change in our voting process allows early voting and was passed by our legislators earlier this year. Early voting is taking place at the County Administration Building at 197 E. Tabernacle, St. George, through Nov. 3, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Any county citizen who registered to vote prior to Oct. 10 has the opportunity to vote early at this location.

To date, the voting machines are working well and have presented no problems, although backup machines and battery power are available in case of a breakdown of equipment or interruption of power.

Additionally, our voting machines are a recent model and provide a paper trail in case a vote recount is necessary. Voters can see their ballot and can reject a vote and re-cast their ballot if they desire. The machine prints a paper record that remains rolled in a secured canister for a paper audit of votes, if ordered. In fact, Utah’s lieutenant governor, Gary R. Herbert, has directed a post-election random paper audit of about one percent of all district races to confirm the machines’ accuracy.

 Although voters in the June primary election are familiar with electronic voting, for many voters, this will be their first time using the machines. We have trained poll workers available to assist voters in this new and exciting process.

So far, we have seen a high turnout of early voters, with approximately 250 voters per day during the first three days of early voting, compared to about 700 voters during the nine-day early voting period for the primary elections. With this rate of turnout, we will probably have a 40 to 50 percent voter turnout. Of course, we would like all citizens to participate in the election. 

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