March 4, 2004

Touch-screen machines a hit with voters

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

Tuesday marked the inaugural use of the new touch-screen voting system, much to the delight of voters.

“It was very easy and very quick,” said Mary De La Rosa. “I could actually read it and not try to figure out which hole to punch.”

Almaden Precinct Inspector Bob Miller agrees. “They are great. People just love the heck out of them. We've been hearing comments like, ‘gee, they're fun,' and ‘we don't have to worry about the punching holes in paper ballots anymore.'”

One consistent comment, according to Miller was that voters would like to have a receipt, something he says he thinks they are going to correct down the road.

In spite of recent Mercury News reports, Miller is not concerned about the system's reliability as the voting machines are individualized. “Everything they have said about these machines is negative,” he replied. “That's all a bunch of garbage.”

Residents give the new system glowing reviews for being user friendly, spending far less time voting than with traditional methods. If a mistake is made, one can simply go back to that screen and fix it, eliminating the need to start over with a new ballot. Their electronic ballot decisions are then recorded onto an internal drive, with a backup on the machine's hard drive. When the election is over, the seal on the back of the machine is broken and the portable drive is removed. It is then delivered downtown, where the votes are tallied. The backup files remain in the voting machines until the election is certified. “There's no way you can break into it and stuff the ballot box so to speak,” he replied. “It's really a great system

Setup and tear down for those manning the polls is a blessing too. “We can put these things up in about five minutes,” Miller exclaimed. “Then it just all folds down, you put a lid on it and you're done. “I'm really impressed.”