Thursday, January 17, 2008

Tracking PA Counties Adopting New Voting Systems

That's a new one. Electec, Inc.?

County compares 6 replacement voting machines
Officials are looking for certified devices for the spring primary.

Tuesday was a shopping day of sorts for officials from Northampton and two other northeast Pennsylvania counties looking to replace their former electronic voting machines in time for the April 22 primary.

Next, it's crunch the numbers, digest the information, and make a choice.

''Now it's decision time,'' said Northampton County Executive John Stoffa as a day of product demonstrations ended around mid-afternoon on the third floor of the county courthouse in Easton...

...In addition, other electronic machines were displayed, as was a digital optical scanner that read paper ballots. Vendors involved were Hart InterCivic, Premier Election Systems (formerly Diebold Election Systems), Sequoia Voting Systems, Election Systems & Software Inc., and Electec Inc. (machines from Danaher Controls).

Joe Long, chairman of the Northampton County Democratic Committee, and Bob Kilbanks, who heads the county Republican Committee, both said they favored a full-face version.

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b1_3vote.6228105jan16,0,4777140.story


County weighs voting options
Five companies vying to supply county with electronic machines.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
By SARAH CASSI
The Express-Times
Concerns with some of the five voting machine companies vying for Northampton County's business may take them off officials' contender lists.

The companies invited to make presentations Tuesday are the only voting companies certified by the state, Administration Director John Conklin said.

The companies were asked to bring touch-screen voting machines with systems that can add a component or feature for a paper audit trail later on, Conklin said.

Conklin said Election Systems & Software can only provide the county used machines for April's primary. The machines would be fully certified, but Conklin said if ES& S is chosen, the county might lease the used machines.

Only Sequoia Voting System and Electec Inc. offer the option of full-screen voting machines, Conklin said. The other three companies have smaller touch screens similar to the old Advanced Voting Solutions machines.

With the AVS machines, voters used multiple screens in order to see the entire ballot. With full screen machines, the entire ballot is displayed on a large screen and is hidden with a privacy screen or curtain.

Last fall, the Election Assistance Commission questioned Sequoia about using two testing labs for its Win EDS 4.0.34 system and told the company the system would need to be retested by iBeta before being certified.

The system's certification is listed as pending on the commission's Web site.

Since the companies are all on state contracts, the county will not have to bid the contract, Conklin said. Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Department of State said it would give the county $2 million to buy new voting machines.

Council President Ann McHale said she hasn't seen the machines but wants to be sure the chosen company has its certifications in order and offers a quality product.

McHale said council will vote on a contract Thursday.

Reporter Sarah Cassi can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at scassi@express-times.com.»Ê" ° þ ýûù

http://www.nj.com/news/expresstimes/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-15/1200200763204690.xml&coll=2


Companies compete for officials' votes
voting machine manufacturers make pitches. Commissioners will recommend choice to council.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008By SARAH CASSIThe Express-Times
EASTON | Questions about voting machine security and concerns about compromising elections dominated the voting machine vendor fair Tuesday afternoon.

Residents and officials heard from five companies; Sequoia Voting Systems, Election Systems and Software, Hart InterCivic, Electec Inc. and Premier Elections Solutions, formerly Diebold Election Systems...

http://www.pennlive.com/news/expresstimes/index.ssf?/base/news-15/1200459956216420.xml&coll=2

http://www.nj.com/news/expresstimes/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-15/1200459956216420.xml&coll=2


Sunday, January 13, 2008
The following companies provide voting equipment:

-- Electec Inc., based in Mount Holly, N.J.

-- Election Systems and Software, also known as ES& S, based in Omaha, Neb.

-- Hart InterCivic, based in Austin, Texas

-- Premier Elections Solutions, formerly Diebold Election Systems, based in Allen, Texas

-- Sequoia Voting Systems, offices in California, Colorado and New York

http://www.pennlive.com/news/expresstimes/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-15/1200200723204690.xml&coll=2


Companies compete for officials' votes
voting machine manufacturers make pitches. Commissioners will recommend choice to council. Wednesday, January 16, 2008By SARAH CASSIThe Express-Times
EASTON | Questions about voting machine security and concerns about compromising elections dominated the voting machine vendor fair Tuesday afternoon.

Residents and officials heard from five companies; Sequoia Voting Systems, Election Systems and Software, Hart InterCivic, Electec Inc. and Premier Elections Solutions, formerly Diebold Election Systems.

Lilly Gioia, a former election commissioner, read a statement about reports of Hart Intercivic's scanning system having problems with stray marks, Ohio officials worrying that Premier's touch screen servers could be easily tampered with and Hancock County, Illinois, accusing ES& S of deceptive business practices.

Election Commissioner Joan Rosenthal said it was inappropriate for Gioia to make a statement at the meeting Tuesday.

Company representatives did not address Gioia's remarks.

Commissioners and council members have plenty to consider as they decide which voting system to choose.

Sequoia Voting Systems, which has served Montgomery County for the past 12 years, offered a full touch screen voting machine, where the entire ballot is on one large screen.

Electec Inc., which is used in six Pennsylvania counties including Philadelphia, presented a large touchpad voting machine. A large paper ballot sits on top of a touch-sensitive grid and when a person touches a candidate's name, a light comes on.

Election Systems & Software and Premier, formerly Diebold Election Systems, offered touch screen machines similar to Advanced Voting Solutions machines. ES& S has 36 accounts in Pennsylvania including Luzerne County, and Premier serves 16 counties, including Lehigh County.

Hart InterCivic brought two systems, an electronic voting machine with a screen and a separate control board and an optical scan system for paper ballots.

Representatives from Premier and Hart InterCivic said they can provide new machines if chosen. Because of the short timetable, Electec and Sequoia would provide a mix of new and "refurbished" machines, at least for the primary, and ES& S would supply reconditioned machines...

http://www.nj.com/news/expresstimes/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-15/1200459956216420.xml&coll=2

http://www.pennlive.com/news/expresstimes/index.ssf?/base/news-15/1200459956216420.xml&coll=2


More searching for electec coming up than - well - who knew

Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Optical Scan Among Five Voting Choices Provided to Three Pa. Counties


http://lehighvalleyramblings.blogspot.com/2008/01/optical-scan-among-five-voting-choices.html

Saturday, September 16, 2006
Norco's Elections Chair - Dem Committeeman, Area Chair & Partisan Radio Show Host - Isn't This a Conflict?



http://lehighvalleyramblings.blogspot.com/2006/09/norcos-elections-chair-dem.html


democratic committee

http://www.northamptoncounty.org/northampton/lib/northampton/northamptonvote/demcom_052006.pdf

http://www.fairvote.org/redistricting/reports/remanual/panews3.htm


Allegheny County Dem Com Campaign Finance report

http://www.campaignfinance.state.pa.us/CFReport.aspx?CFReportID=47073&Section=III&StartRow=1&RowsPerPage=56


Patricia Fowler
DCWC Commissioner 2007-present

http://www.co.delaware.pa.us/womencom/aboutcommissioners.html


Bucks County

Sandy Schiff a Doylestown resident spoke about the ongoing cost of voting machines and inquired about the agreement with electec

http://www.buckscounty.org/government/publicMeetings/MeetingMinutes07/Minutes080107.pdf

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