Voting machines may be updated and replaced in the 20 voting precincts across Attala County this year.
The Board of Supervisors listened to a presentation by Bill Lowe of Election Systems and Software previously, during which Lowe presented a DS200 voting machine and described its benefits. Currently, a total of 49 voting machines are used each year across all precincts in the county, according to Circuit Clerk Lula Thompson. While the board is still considering ordering the new equipment, the total cost for 22 voting machines along with servicing fees would be $176,323 including an $8,417.50 warranty. If 22 machines were ordered, the county could significantly decrease the number of machines used, with only one placed at each precinct with a couple reserved as spares.
In addition to providing and installing the new voting machines, ES&S would remove the old equipment, train Attala County election commissioners and poll workers, and provide a local representative to assist with maintenance. The local representative, based out of the company’s Jackson facility, would also be present for the first election using the machines to ensure the process runs smoothly.
The county’s current voting machines, touchscreen Accuvote TSXs, were installed in 2005 utilizing outdated technology from 2002. The new, upgraded systems would read paper ballots and should be operable for the next 15 years, according to Lowe.
Lowe introduced the new DS200 voting machine, allowed the supervisors to ask questions concerning its abilities, and simulated the process of opening and closing a precinct.
Lowe said nearly 30 counties in Mississippi are using ES&S voting machines, serving about 60 percent of registered voters in the state. Last year, Greene, Kemper, Grenada, Hancock, Pike, and Marion counties upgraded their machines prior to November elections. Lowe said the response has been overwhelmingly positive due to the machines’ user-friendly interface. In the past four years, Hinds, Madison, DeSoto, Harrison, Yalobusha, and Kemper counties have also been utilizing these machines.
“I would say the number one thing with this system is it was designed to be user-friendly from the voter’s perspective, election commissioners, and all who are involved in elections,” Lowe told the supervisors. “We've already got a poll manager's guide, quick guides for the poll workers… everything's already in place. Literally, when we come in to upgrade Attala, we sit down with the commissioners. We already have all those documents prepared, and we get through everything.”
With the user-friendly interface, it should take poll workers only a matter of minutes to open and close a precinct. Use of this model would also decrease the workload and number of workers it takes to operate on election days.
“I would say the number one feedback we get is how easy this is. It helps your poll workers. You don't have to have an IT person from your local community to open up the polls,” said Lowe. “I don't want to tell you how many poll workers you need, but technically, you don't need as many poll workers at the precinct with this system.”
According to Lowe, the ballot scanner will also read ballots in any condition. Ballots will be counted even if they are submitted upside-down, forward, backward, or after being wadded up into a ball and smoothed out. Lowe said result wait times should also be shortened due to the efficiency of submitting the ballots.
In years past, long lines would accumulate at the touchscreen voting machines as voters filled out their ballots. If the new voting machines are approved, voters would mark their paper ballots under a private partition and be able to quickly have their ballot scanned and counted.
“How easy or hard would it be to tamper with that system?” asked District Three Supervisor Steven Goss.
Lowe said hacking the system would not be possible because the machines do not have network capabilities or internet access. All voting information is saved to a USB drive local to the precinct’s voting device.
“There's no WiFi or network capability on this system where they can get into it,” Lowe answered. “So, I don't care if you were a NASA engineer who knew how to hack everything in the United States. You don't even have the hardware in here to physically ping the system.”
The voting machines are also ADA compliant. A separate digital device is available for disabled voters to use, equipped with Braille keypads and headphones. The machine is able to talk voters through the process step-by-step, and ballots can also be magnified for those with visual deficiencies.
Goss tested the equipment during the presentation to ensure it functioned properly.
A device intended for disabled voters could also be used by those who prefer not to use a paper ballot, according to Lowe.
“Whether they have a hard time reading the ballot, or they can't read the ballot, a lot of times, they still will use paper, possibly with some assistance on the paper. But you could also use this system because it tells you step-by-step through the audio how to use it,” said Lowe. “If you know you have some voters that may be uncomfortable with the paper ballot and reading everything on the ballot, we will bring them in for training on how to use this before the election and walk them through the entire process.”
