Switch is inadvisable

Arkansas counties use Election System and Software (ES&S) equipment tested and certified by the U.S Election Assistance Commission. Voting equipment consists of an electronic poll book and ballot printer (cost approximately $1,500), an Express Vote ballot marker ($4,000) and DS-200 ballot tabulator ($5,000).

Voters have the opportunity to verify their completed ballot before feeding it into the tabulator. The tabulator also counts absentee ballots.

ES&S programs media for the voting equipment for each election. Some counties do it in-house. For each election, the election commission programs the poll book, ballot marker and tabulator with thumb drives. While the saber-rattling about cybersecurity concerns may apply to other states, I am confident Arkansas’ system is secure at the county level.

Results are immediate upon request. Counting paper ballots by hand will be time-consuming, and the results not known for days after a major election. Uncounted ballots offer the opportunity for election fraud. If Arkansas switched to paper ballots counted by hand, about $7 million worth of voting equipment will be discarded. I suppose other states whose equipment is not as up to date as Arkansas would purchase the equipment at a reduced price.

STUART SOFFER White Hall

Stuart Soffer served seven years as the Republican designate on the state Board of Election Commissioners and 15 years as a Jefferson County election commissioner, and represented the United States seven times as an international election observer with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.