W.Va. Halts New Voting Machines
By JOSELYN KINGWHEELING - Ohio and Hancock county officials wanted more voting machines in time for the Nov. 4 general election, but the West Virginia Elections Commission has opted not to certify the new devices.
At question are new parts and modifications within the machines now being manufactured by Elections Systems and Software of Chicago, the state's vendor for touchscreen voting equipment. The changes have not yet been reviewed and approved by commission members.
Summers County also had requested additional devices.
Local elections officials said they had been simply seeking to add some additional devices to those they presently had, and that elections won't be affected by not having more machines.
Hancock County had been seeking seven additional devices, County Clerk Eleanor Strait said. The county presently utilizes 86 machines for elections.
In Ohio County, officials had wanted 10 more devices to add to the 163 presently in use, said Toni Chieffalo, county coordinator of elections.
"We weren't so worried about 10 machines," Chieffalo said. "At first, ES&S wasn't sure they could get them to me in time for the election. Then they said they could get them here in September. I didn't think we would get them."
Chieffalo said she had been seeking a few additional devices for early voting, and to add some more for use in the county's larger voting precincts.
Machines used for early voting cannot be used again on election day at the polls, she noted.
Strait on Tuesday said she had yet to be informed of the commission's decision, but she didn't foresee their refusal to certify the new machines as creating a problem with elections in Hancock County.
"We can go with what we had in primary, " she said. "At some of the bigger precincts, we were just wanting to add a machine."
The West Virginia Secretary of State's Office initially purchased new voting machines in 2006 for West Virginia counties that wanted them. The money for the purchase came from funds provided through the Help America Vote Act.
Any additional devices must be paid for by the counties, and the machines cost about $3,000 each.
The Secretary of State's Office does have on hand about 25 extra machines the counties could have access to if they were needed, said Jason Williams, manager of the elections division.
He noted he had spoken with the counties, and that none had indicated a desperate need for machines at this time.
"We just want to make sure that they feel comfortable with the numbers they have," Williams said.
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ShaneL
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10-17-08 9:56 AM
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These junk voting machines are not made in Omaha,Nebraska USA or Chicago, IL.They are manufactured in the Philippines at slave labor with a 70% reject rate. Yet we are trusting something as valuable as our vote on something as unreliable as this is absurd.It makes no sense unless someone wanted to steal the vote. The paper ballet can be recounted. These machines can't. It is quite obvious we should be using paper ballet voting. Here's a link to the ES&S site: ***********essvote****/HTML/contact/contact.html Article: Election Systems & Software, rebuked by a federal agency earlier this month for not disclosing that its voting machines are assembled in a factory in the Philippines, has responded to the Election Assistance Commission with a full list of its manufacturing facilities -- including subcontractors. In addition to the Manila factory, Teletech (pictured at right), the list now includes more than a dozen manufacturers, including one each in Taiwan and China. Enjoy.
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wonderwhy
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09-25-08 10:23 AM
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have any of you looked up who owns the comapany that owns these machines? it's not obama, guess who it is????
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gabound
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09-24-08 8:36 PM
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the machines are made in chicago? do they already come programmed with a victory for nobama? the political machine rolls on.
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Georgetwin
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09-24-08 10:26 AM
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These machines are made in Chicago? Are they going to put them in cemeteries?
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DavisJms7
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09-24-08 7:49 AM
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I am JAMES DAVIS, a non-partisan candidate for Governor and I will bring West Virginia from the bottom of every bad list in the country to the top, or above the top, of every good list. Go to Vote Smart, they have a dot org address and read what I will do for West Virginia and this November, make your vote count and vote JAMES DAVIS for Governor.
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DavisJms7
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09-24-08 7:45 AM
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I am JAMES DAVIS, a non-partisan candidate for Governor and if I am elected to office I will restructure the voting system where it will be 100% tamper proof. There will be no more miscounting of votes, missed votes, misplaced votes, replaced votes, I couldn't get there in time to vote, or dead votes. In November, write JAMES DAVIS in as Governor and I will correct the voting system and give you the best one in the country.
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