CUDDLE BUDDY
Systems must fulfill paper trail mandate
Dustin Schneider, 39, of Mount Washington, cuddles with his service dog Spangle, a 3-year-old German Shepherd, after the Passing of The Leash ceremony Tuesday at Duquesne University. Story in
Four companies showed off their voting systems Tuesday at the first of a number of public demonstrations organized by Allegheny County as part of its new voting equipment selection process.
The reviews of the systems were generally favorable.
At Tuesday’s demonstration at Community College of Allegheny County’s North campus, members of the public were able to test the proposed systems and provide feedback to the county. Other demonstrations are scheduled through June 12. (See the schedule below.)
On Friday, the elections board will hold a public hearing on the voting machine search process in County Council’s Gold Room in the Allegheny County Courthouse.
At the Friday hearing, the elections board — Common Pleas Judge Kathryn M. Hens-Greco, Councilman Tom Baker and Councilman Bob Palmosina — will update the public on the process and hold a public comment period. They also will hear from Marian K. Schneider, president of Verified Voting; Christopher Deluzio, counsel for the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program; and Candice Hoke, law faculty member at Cleveland State University.
New voting machines are required to comply with state requirements that there be voter-verifiable paper ballots statewide, as part of a settlement following a lawsuit demanding a recount by 2016 Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein.
The settlement also requires that new machines allow postelection audits, as it requires audits before results are certified.
The systems by the four vendors that responded to the county’s call for proposals were ClearBallot ClearVote 1.5, Dominion Democracy Suite 5.5-A, Election Systems & Software EVS 6.0.2.1 Voting System, and Hart Verity Voting 2.3.3.
The four systems share some basic mandatory features. All involved some form of paper record, an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant electronic voting machine, some sort of battery backup and no internet connectivity.
Walter Sinicki, 88, and Dorothy Sinicki, 83, siblings who work the polls in Polish Hill, said they found all the machines fairly easy to use.
“For the workers, it’s selfexplanatory,” Ms. Sinicki said.
“It’s a time saver, but not a money saver,” Mr. Sinicki said. He said he would like for voters to be able to take home a copy of their ballots.
Omaha-based Election Systems & Software, or ESS, made the county’s current system and offered four configurations. In one, anyone not using the ADA-compliant touch screen would fill out a paper ballot, then feed it into a scanner. The ADA machine produces a paper ballot to feed into a scanner.
The other three ESS systems use some version of a touch screen that produces a paper ballot that the voter has to confirm before casting a vote. Kim Hayes of ESS emphasized the variety of options, saying any combination of its systems would be available to the county.
Denver-based Dominion had a similar pair of options: either a handmarked paper ballot plus a scanner, or an electronic machine that prints out a marked ballot that is cast by feeding it into a scanner. Dominion’s John Hastings said that its systems are “cost-effective and affordable” because they use “off-the-shelf equipment.”
Boston’s ClearBallot and Austin’s Hart Verity both offered a physical ballot that voters scan into a machine.
Joe Gregory, of ClearBallot, noted that ClearBallot began as an election auditing company and that its systems preserve five copies of the vote: two memory sticks, the physical voting machine, the original ballot and a paper readout.
Lawrence Leach, of Hart Verity, said that it handles elections for some of the country’s biggest counties, including Harris County, Texas, in the Houston area and Orange County, Calif. “A big issue for the county is finding a partner used to counties this size,” Mr. Leach said.
Members of the public testing the machines expressed three major concerns: elections integrity, ease of use, and cost. Potential costs were not available Tuesday, but residents said all the systems met their ease of use and integrity concerns.
Linda McKee, 69, of McCandless, offered one common view. “Frankly, they’re all pretty similar. I’d go with the one that’s most cost-effective.”
Joan Dickerson, 75, an Oakland Democratic committeewoman, was happy that the new system would have to include a paper ballot. “When they had us do this 10 years ago, I said there should be a paper trail,” she said.
Diane Tkocs, 68, of Ohio Township, was motivated to try the machines because of concerns about hacking. “We need that security. It’s clear from the Mueller report that the Russians have attempted to manipulate our elections.”
“I thought they were all very good,” Ms. Tkocs said. “Cost is always an issue, but we couldn’t compare the cost.”
County Councilwoman Cindy Kirk, R-McCandless, said she was trying out the machines because council would have to vote on the appropriation. “It seems to be doable, what we want. A paper ballot and an electronic system,” she said.
Ms. Kirk said she was very happy with the attention paid to accessibility options and with the public response to the event.
“I’m curious what the cost will be, but it’s our elections,” she added.
Bethany Hallam, of Ross, the Democratic nominee for a County Council at-large seat, said, “We need to make sure that there’s public input into the decision.”
She said she preferred the options with an actual paper ballot as the best way to be certain that the correct vote is recorded.
According to the county’s news releases on the demonstrations, “Residents are invited to provide feedback to the Elections Division at the demonstration, or to e-mail the Board of Elections and Division at boe@alleghenycounty.us.”
The remaining demonstrations are scheduled for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. on these dates at the following locations, unless otherwise noted:
● Wednesday, CCAC South Campus Gymnasium, 1750 Clairton Road, West Mifflin.
● Thursday, CCAC Boyce Campus Atrium, 595 Beatty Road, Monroeville.
● Saturday, Kane Community Living Center Glen Hazel Auditorium, 955 Rivermont Drive, Hazelwood. Only from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
● June 11, CCAC Allegheny Campus, Foerster Student Services Center Auditorium, 808 Ridge Avenue, North Side.
● June 12, Kane Community Living Center Glen Hazel Auditorium, 955 Rivermont Drive, Hazelwood.
● June 13, CCAC West Hills Center, Rooms S-1306, S-1307, S-1308 and S-1311, 1000 McKee Road, North Fayette.