Registrars must create paper trail or meet criteria

Alicia Robinson

Voters who used Orange County’s new electronic voting machines in the

March 2 primary might not see those same machines in November.

Secretary of State Kevin Shelley on Friday withdrew his

certification of four electronic voting systems, including the Hart

InterCivic “eSlate” machines used in Orange County, unless they meet

a list of 23 security conditions or offer a paper trail for voters to

check their ballot for accuracy.

State and county officials have been looking at the electronic

voting systems because of concerns about accuracy and security of

electronic machines. Poll worker mistakes resulted in 2,000 voters

getting the wrong ballots for the March 2 primary. Shelley banned a

touch-screen voting system made by Diebold, Inc., a different system

than the one used in Orange County.

County officials aren’t yet sure what Shelley’s announcement will

mean here, but several local voters said they think improvements

could be made to the eSlate system.

“I consider myself a somewhat intelligent person, and I didn’t

think it was all that user-friendly,” Newport Heights resident Todd

Cortell said. “I can imagine people getting frustrated if there’s a

big line behind them or if they’re in a hurry.”

The County Registrar of Voters is looking into how best to

approach Shelley’s directives, registrar spokesman Brett Rowley said.

To be approved for use in the November election, any decertified

voting systems must either have a paper record that voters can check

before they cast their ballots, or they must meet 23 security

criteria. One of those criteria is that each voter must be able to

opt out of using the electronic machine and have the option of using

a paper ballot.

Other security criteria include that the system must not have a

wireless Internet or telephone connection, all hardware and software

must be tested by state and federal officials, the registrar must

submit a plan for training poll workers on the system and registrars

of voters must create a security plan to protect voting systems from

fraud.

The Secretary of State has promised that counties will not bear

the costs of meeting the directives, spokesman Doug Stone said. Many

counties already had some of the security measures in place prior to

the March primary, he said.

“What we’re doing this week is working on detailed information

that would include more of a timeline approach so that counties have

a clear understanding in terms of what is expected of them and when

in order to ensure a smooth November election,” he said.

Orange County Registrar of Voters Steve Rodermund will discuss

Shelley’s directives with the county board of supervisors today at

its meeting, Rowley said.

Although about 2,000 voters around the county received the wrong

ballots on March 2, city clerks in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach said

they heard few complaints from voters who used the electronic voting

machines that were in both city halls for early voting in February.

“We had a terrific response from the people,” Costa Mesa deputy

clerk Julie Folsik said. “I can only think of one or two instances

when people cast their vote [before they were ready].”

Most voters that visited Newport Beach City Hall had no trouble

with the machines, City Clerk LaVonne Harkless said.

“We didn’t have a very good turnout for the first time of having

early voting,” she said. “[But] the feedback we did receive was

positive.”

Voters said they’re not against using new technology, but they

think there may still be a place for paper ballots in the voting

booth.

“I would like to see an electronic voting machine that has a paper

trail,” said Eleanor Klein, who worked the polls at TeWinkle Middle

School. “This one doesn’t. However, it worked. It was much faster [to

tabulate results].”

Klein said some voters were intimidated by electronic voting, but

once they used the machines they said it was easier than they

expected.

Cortell said he wasn’t worried that with no paper trail his vote

might be miscounted, but he would prefer machines that are less

complicated.

“I think there is a place for technology for voting and not having

a hanging chad situation,” he said. “I just think they could do

better.”

Samuel Clark of Costa Mesa works with computers, so he had no

trouble with the machines at all, he said. What the county decides to

do for the November election is of particular import to Clark,

because he is running for a seat on the Costa Mesa City Council.

“My obvious concern is that just because I’m techno-savvy doesn’t

mean everybody is, and I don’t like people being disenfranchised,”

Clark said.

Shelley’s office will release more information to counties later

this week.