WHEELING - 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.