Electronic voting system yields smooth results

Business Report Correspondent

LAFAYETTE ? With comets flying out of Florida, no one thought to ask how the elections went elsewhere. In two Colorado precincts, they went smoother than ever before. And for the first time in history, blind voters cast their ballots in complete secrecy.

HartInterCivic, a business that provides electronic government solutions with offices in Lafayette, installed its eSlate Networked Electronic Voting Systems in Arapahoe and Summit counties for early elections. In addition, Summit County used the devices election day to rave reviews.

Vicky Stecklein, elections administrator at Summit County, wanted to test the

electronic voting system because it was the first she had seen that was not a touch-screen device. “Personally, I don’t like the touch screen, and it doesn’t allow blind people to vote in privacy. The most important thing about this election was that for the first time, disabled people could vote by themselves in complete privacy.”

eSlate is easy to use. Voters only can make one choice in each category, and there is no way to tamper with the votes, according to Stecklein.

The present model was developed in January 1999 in Boulder by Neil McClure, vice president and general manager of HartIntercivic’s election division in Lafayette. It is an LCD-based electronic device that uses a simple wheel on the front of the machine to view the choices for an office candidate or an amendment. “The wheel turns through race titles and candidates, drawing a red box, highlighting and bolding the current selection. The voter presses ?enter’ to chose the title or candidate,” McClure said.

eSlate can handle 30 visual or verbal impairments to allow voters to cast ballots unassisted. “A man with no arms voted without help this year for the first time,” McClure said. As blind people turn the wheel, it triggers an audio voice that reads the choices to them.

A verification program ensures that the voter can’t select more that one candidate for president or other offices or vote both yes and no for an amendment. “Windows pop up if there were categories for which the voter didn’t enter a selection. It asks if you want to go back and fill it in,” Stecklein said. “It’s almost impossible to make a mistake because eSlate would cut down the errors we frequently have with paper ballots.”

The one precinct out of 17 where Summit County used eSlate for voting had 1,490 early voters 15 days before the election, and 871 voters on election day. It used eight machines.

“The only negative comments we heard were from people who didn’t want to change anything about the way they voted the last time. Everyone else liked the experience. They said it was efficient and actually fun to vote on the eSlate,” Stecklein said.

Tracy Baker, Arapahoe County clerk and recorder, had a similar experience with the electronic voting devices. Of the 24,000 early voters who were given a choice of voting methods, about half, or 12,000, used the eSlate electronic voting systems.

“In early voting, we’re required to have every ballot possible. eSlate stored them electronically, which made the process very efficient,” Baker said. The voters thought the devices were self-explanatory and liked the new technology.

“It’s time to be finished with paper ballots,” Stecklein said. “ESlate will pay for itself by reducing paper costs and using fewer election judges.” Summit County pays $15,500 for the paper ballots used in general elections alone, not including primaries. It hires four or five judges per precinct but would only need one or two if it always used eSlate for the elections, according to Stecklein.

McClure concurred. “Nothing has been done differently in the election business for 20 years. It is the only industry that still uses punched cards.”

The eSlate system provides central, regional and precinct tabulation as well as complete reporting and auditing. It incorporates strict design standards that ensure access for visually impaired, hearing impaired or physically challenged voters. The eSlate system also includes an optional, fully integrated voter registration feature.

The eSlate price ranges between $2,500 for the basic unit and $3,500 for the unit with accessibility features for the blind and physically disabled. HartIntercivic is prepared to fill orders right now. “If a county official called me today for 1,000 units, we would be able to deliver,” McClure said.

The company has received federal certification for eSlate and is working with individual states to receive their certification for the device. McClure also is having discussions with many county officials interested in buying eSlate and will be at the statewide trade show in Florida in January.

McClure has had many inquiries about eSlate since the election Nov. 7, but many more since the presidential election was resolved. “We are also working with federal and state investigators who are researching issues for possible election legislation,” he said.

HartInterCivic, headquartered in Austin, Texas, has financial, business, imaging and insurance divisions in addition to the division that provides election support and other solutions to government. The company bought Worldwide Election Systems, incorporated in 1996, from McClure and others who founded the firm. McClure moved from Boulder and established offices in Lafayette on Waneka Parkway. “It’s still called Worldwide, but the name will be changed to HartInterCivic very soon,” he said. Contact Mariann Starkey at (303) 440-4950 or mstarkey@bcbr.com.

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