Article published May 18, 2004
LUCAS COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS
Republican officials say Democrats subverting voting system purchase
Two Republican officeholders criticized Democrats yesterday for trying to derail the planned purchase of a $4 million voting machine system by Lucas County.
State Sen. Randy Gardner (R., Bowling Green) and Lucas County Auditor Larry Kaczala, a Republican candidate for Congress, said opponents are trying to undermine public confidence in the election process in advance of the fall election.
But state Rep. Peter Ujvagi and state Sen. Teresa Fedor, both Toledo Democrats, said they want the county to have voting machines that can be recounted, and they want the county to check with other vendors.
The Lucas County Board of Elections is scheduled to vote tomorrow on whether to acquire a touch-screen voting machine system from Diebold Elections Systems of McKinney, Texas, at a cost of $4 million - fully paid for by state and federal funds.
Diebold has said if Lucas County opts not to buy the touch-screen units, it would charge the county nearly $350,000 to lease optical-scan voting machines for the November general election. The county would have to bear the cost.
Mr. Ujvagi, Ms. Fedor, and U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) have said they doubt the Diebold system's reliability. They want a paper audit trail, which won't be required, under state law, until 2006.The debate has become overtly partisan because of Diebold chief executive Walden O'Dell's high-profile role as a Republican fund-raiser.
Mr. Gardner said touch-screen paper systems aren't reliable and are not used anywhere in the country. If tampering is a concern, there would be no less exposure to tampering with a computer-produced paper record, he said.
"Elections officials at the county level should have the freedom to make this decision without heavy lobbying by state legislators or members of Congress," Mr. Gardner said.
Mr. Kaczala said, "You have Democrats who want to delay implementation of new voting machines because they want to spread fear and worry."
Mr. Ujvagi said he still hopes to have a meeting with Elections Board Chairman Bernadette Noe before tomorrow's vote.
He said the county should negotiate a more reasonable lease price, and then buy the paper-equipped system when it becomes available, prior to 2006.
Ms. Fedor said a complete voting system includes the ability to have a manual recount.
"We are simply advocating an open bidding process that will provide the best voter-verified machines at the best price for the citizens of this county," Ms. Fedor said.
The board is expected to split 2-2 along party lines, with the tie likely to be broken in favor of Diebold by Republican Secretary of State Ken Blackwell.
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