This article originally provided by The Charleston Daily Mail

January 13, 2006

Bill would let county count at precincts

Measure would allow Kanawha to tally votes earlier in the evening

Matthew Thompson
Daily Mail staff

The Secretary of State's office is drafting a bill that would allow Kanawha County officials to tabulate votes at the precincts, an action it says would give voters an early and accurate vote count before final tabulations are tallied at the end of election night.

The precinct-based count would occur with county's new M-100 counter machines, which were acquired last fall when the county commission approved new optical-scan voting machines. The counters will be used in the county's 183 precincts to review optical-scan ballots for over-votes.

Ben Beakes, Secretary of State Betty Ireland's chief of staff, said the bill targets Kanawha specifically because it is the only county that purchased the extra M-100 machines. But Beakes said if it passes, other counties could choose to purchase counters and use precinct-based counts.

"We want to give counties enough ammo to make these choices," Beakes said. "With new equipment comes new options that can make our election system more efficient."

Beakes said most other states have changed the laws to allow precinct-based counting when they adopt optical-scan machines. With optical-scan machines, voters fill out a form similar to those used by students who take standardized tests. The ballot then is put through a scanner attached to a ballot box at the precinct.

Even with precinct-based counting, the votes will still be run through central counting machines and hand-checked for write-in votes, Beakes said.

"It's just going to be another step in the process," Beakes said. "I know people will be skeptical about fraud, but at the end of the day all these ballots will be centrally counted."

Beakes said the office is now working to get sponsors for the bill. The office is also working with Kanawha County Commissioner Kent Carper, an avid supporter of the legislation.

Carper said he saw how precinct-based counting speeds up election night voting when he observed a general election in Chesterfield County, Va., last November. The county had just switched from punch-card voting methods to optical-scan ballots.

The Kanawha County Commission unanimously voted in September to replace the punch card system to comply with the federal Help American Vote Act of 2002. The act required all states to eliminate punch-card or lever voting machines by Jan. 1, 2006, to receive future federal funding

Carper said he hopes West Virginia will take the next step in the election process with this new bill.

"It would be an incredible mistake for the Legislature not to utilize this new technology," Carper said. "Otherwise people will be complaining on election night of how long it takes to tabulate. The law needs to fit the equipment."

Carper said he's been in contact with the county's legislative delegation along with County Clerk Vera McCormick to discuss the issue.

McCormick said precinct-based counting wouldn't dramatically change the vote count methods.

"We'll still have to physically look at every ballot for write-ins and tabulation," McCormick said. "It will help us out a little bit, but not too much."

Contact writer Matthew Thompson at 348-4834.