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Arkansas: Eight Counties To Forego Touchscreens Next Tuesday After Finding ES&S Programming Errors |
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By Warren Stewart, VoteTrustUSA
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June 09, 2006 |
The discovery of programming errors on ES&S iVotronic touchscreen machines has led eight Arkansas counties not to use them in next Tuesday’s run-off election. According to an Associated Press article, Pulaski County Elections Director Susan Inman said that county decided not to use the machines after reviewing the programming code from voting machine vendor Election Systems & Software and discovering errors. "In its entirety, it was wrong," Inman said. "I forwarded to them in time for the deadline I was given the information for the runoff."
Pope County Election Commission Chairman Dale Brown said election officials opted to not use the touch-screen machines because they didn't believe enough time would be available to program them.
"We just told them not to send them because we were not going to use them," Brown said. Typically, the vendor tried to dismissed the problem, which could have resulted in inaccurate election results. Jill Friedman-Wilson, a spokeswoman for Omaha, Neb.-based ES&S, said there were not any errors with the programming but said it was a coding problem that could have been easily addressed.
"It's how precincts and polling stations are laid out in the coding," Friedman-Wilson said. Ballot programming errors on ES&S optical scan machines required a full hand recount of last Tuesday’s primary election in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. A hand count would be impossible should a similar error with the touch screen machines.
Deputy Secretary of State Janet Harris said that Desha, Garland, Jefferson, Lonoke, Phillips, Pope, Pulaski and Searcy counties had told her office they won't use the electronic voting equipment on Tuesday.
There will be no touch-screen voting machines at polling places in eight Arkansas counties for Tuesday's runoff elections, the secretary of state's office says.
Deputy Secretary of State Janet Harris said Thursday that Desha, Garland, Jefferson, Lonoke, Phillips, Pope, Pulaski and Searcy counties had told her office they won't use the electronic voting equipment on Tuesday. The equipment is required under federal law.
ES&S has caused headaches for Arkansas election officials all Spring. As a result of delays in providing equipment and software and problems with tabulation, Secretary of State Charlie Daniels order a review of ES&S and the May 23 primary election. Daniels has said he will form a committee of election officials to review the report, which will be completed at the end of June.
In a rare example of almost accepting responsibility for the problems, Harris was quoted, "There were still programming delays in getting ready for election day that we're very unhappy about. "We'd much rather see the counties have all of their media and information for election day a week earlier than we did."
So would the taxpayer/voters of Arkansas.
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