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After Primary, Hillsborough Ditching Touch-Screens

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By MIKE SALINERO, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 28, 2008

Updated: 01/27/2008 11:44 pm

TAMPA - Six years ago, Hillsborough County spent $15 million on what were then considered the latest, state-of-the-art voting machines.

Tuesday, those 381 touch-screen machines will be used for the last time in a countywide election, victims of voter uncertainty born of a disputed election in Sarasota County. This year, the machines likely will be stripped and sold for scrap.

It's an inglorious end for the ATM-like machines that many elections supervisors around the state swear by as the easiest to use and most effective at preventing voter error.

"It's an accurate system; it's secure; it's reliable," said Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning. "I still believe it's a very good voting system."

But the machines got a black eye in the 2006 congressional election in Florida's 13th district. Republican Vern Buchanan beat Democrat Christine Jennings by 369 votes in that race, but 1,800 ballots recorded "no vote."

The disputed results revived fears first stoked in the 2000 "hanging chad" presidential election that votes were not being counted. After the Buchanan-Jennings flap, Gov. Charlie Crist lent his weight to calls for a ballot paper trail that would reassure voters.

In May, the Legislature passed a bill that required all Florida counties using touch-screen systems to switch to optical scanners by July 1. The scanners read cards submitted by voters with their choices marked in penciled-in bubbles. The cards go in secure tubs after they're scanned and provide a written record of the voter's choice.

The counties can continue to use a few touch-screens for visually impaired voters until 2012, when an audio marking system for those with disabilities must be combined with the optical scanners.

The 15 counties using touch-screens will share $27 million in state and federal money to buy optical scanners. The new state law also requires the secretary of state to get rid of the 27,785 touch-screens around the state.

"Our first preference is remarketing" the touch-screens, said Sterling Ivey, spokesman for the secretary of state's office. "Those we can't resell, we'll begin recycling for reuse of the components."

Some of the money from the machine sales will go to six counties that still owe a combined $33 million for their touch-screen systems, Ivey said. Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties have all paid their touch-screen bills.

Time Taken For 'Due Diligence'

Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections Buddy Johnson received proposals Friday from four voting machine companies for optical scanners. Johnson said the proposals will be reviewed and ranked Thursday by a committee that includes three people from his office, a county commission employee and a lawyer from the American Civil Liberties Union.

The final choice will be submitted to the county commission for approval sometime in February, Johnson said.

Pinellas County signed a $5.75 million deal in early December that includes the machines, computation equipment and voting privacy booths. And other counties already have signed deals for the new machines.

Johnson said he hasn't been procrastinating. For four months, he and his staff have been meeting vendors and attending meetings between voting machine companies and their Florida customers.

"In the last four months, we've done tons of due diligence," he said. "We know all the key players, all the vendors and they know us and what we need."

Johnson said he didn't want to make such an important decision until after Tuesday's election. He said the vendors have assured him the machines can be delivered in late March or early April, with time to get ready for the November presidential election.

The Familiarization Factor

Browning, however, is not so sure. Getting the machines and making sure they work is part of the battle. The supervisor's staff and poll workers need to be trained, Browning said. And the supervisor should provide public education to avoid mishaps at the precincts.

"I've been through two system conversions and I know it's more than getting the package delivered," said Browning, the former Pasco County elections supervisor.

"It's not just a plug-in and play," Browning said. "But apparently, Mr. Johnson is confident that everything will be set to go by the July 1 deadline."

Johnson said that if he gets the machines in time, he will try to use them for the Plant City municipal elections in April. If not, he said he will hold mock elections to allow the public to get used to the new hardware.

"It's a given that we've got a lot of education to do," Johnson said. "The question is, whether there's time to do it. The answer is, yes."

Researcher Michael Messano contributed to this article. Reporter Mike Salinero can be reached at (813) 259-8303 or msalinero@tampatrib.com.

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