Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Help America Vote Act requires that by Jan. 1, 2006, new voting machines must be in place nationwide.
No more punch cards or lever systems.
Thursday, representatives of Kosciusko County and about five other counties gathered in the Justice Building meeting room to hear the latest information about the required changes and reimbursement for voting machines, and to see demonstrations of them.
Three companies presented their wares - Voting Technologies International, Micro Vote and Fidler. In addition, county representatives heard from Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita and Joe McLain, Indiana's Help America Vote Act administrator.
Sharon Christner, Kosciusko County Clerk, said the purpose of the meeting was for the counties present, who haven't purchased new voting machines yet, to hear from the Secretary of State what the requirements for reimbursement are as well as see to the demonstrations. A blind couple also was present to demonstrate how the machines would be accessible for the disabled.
No decisions on purchasing any of the equipment were made. Christner said she would have to meet with the Kosciusko County commissioners and council to determine what machines they liked and from what vendors as well as the cost.
Rokita said the five counties present Thursday were "being super responsible for all we have to do." He briefed them on how the Help America Vote Act came about, which was signed into law Oct. 30, 2002.
"It seems to me there was a lot of change we needed to get ready for," he said. Not since the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has America seen such a change in voting regulations. HAVA is different, he said, in that this time around, the federal government is providing some funds for the mandate.
Indiana is being heralded as a model for its inclusiveness in addressing HAVA. The state convened a bipartisan group that met no fewer than 28 times over a six-month period to come up with its plan on how to handle the federal reimbursement monies.
Rokita said the funding was slated to come in three fiscal cycles and "we're in the third one." He, like other secretaries of state, has made an effort to make sure Washington didn't forget their promise of funding to reimburse the states for the purchase of new voter machines. "As I talk to you today, they've met their promise with one fiscal cycle to go." The federal government has about $600 million more to give and Rokita said he will be watching to see if Washington keeps its promise.
Members of Indiana's HAVA committee included members of the military, legislators, disabled, unions, minorities and "the whole gamut," he said.
In terms of the amount of money being spent and where, he said, Indiana is in the top five states of spending the most for upgrading. In Indiana, there is no uniform piece of voting equipment, each county makes its own decision, and therefore it's hard for the state to get discounts on new machines.
Sixty-nine percent of the $58 million in Indiana's HAVA plan will go to the counties for reimbursement of purchasing new equipment. Other states are spending less than 15 percent of their share, making the counties more responsible for the purchase of new voter machines.
Indiana also is working on linking the voter registration rolls in each county. By electronically connecting them, Rokita said, the state can update them and help prevent fraud. Over the next five years, it will cost the state $10 million.
McLain went through the Voting System Reimbursement Application.
"A lot of counties - around 78 or more - applied during the first application process around 2000," he said. However, due to the state fiscal crisis, that money from the state that was supposed to reimburse the counties was put into the state's general fund. The new application involves federal money and thus federal guidelines.
The application includes several resolutions that need to be passed by the county commissioners. It also includes information the county must provide about the voting machines it plans to buy, lease or lease with the option to buy.
Part III is the application for Section 102 reimbursement money for Tier I counties, which are precincts that used punch cards or lever machines in November 2000. The set amount for each eligible precinct nationwide is $3,192.
"This money can only be used to pay off your obligations to any voting machine vendors or obligations to HAVA," said McLain.
There also is an application for Title III requirement monies and for Section 101 funds.
Title III is for any county to receive reimbursement for obtaining a voting system for each polling place to permit a voter who is blind or visually impaired to vote privately and independently. "That's where our big pool of money is," said McLain. The state anticipated receiving only $40 million in Title III funds but received a check for $48 million this summer. Tier I counties are eligible to receive up to $4,000 per precinct.
Section 101 funds are for several purposes under HAVA, including training and educating voters and poll workers, HAVA administration and some additional voting equipment reimbursement.
The state budget committee must approve all applications before a county receives any reimbursement funds. A county can apply for the reimbursements as soon as they have signed a contract with a vendor to purchase voting equipment. The county can't pay for the equipment out of its general fund or elections fund and can't pay itself back.
"This is federal funding we're dealing with," McLain said.
Kosciusko County Auditor Sue Ann Mitchell said the most she figures Kosciusko can get reimbursed is $600,000. And as Christner figures the county's cost for purchasing new equipment will be approximately $1.3 million, that's approximately $700,000 the county must pay.
Of the new regulations, county commissioner Brad Jackson said, "We are required to buy new voting equipment, if we want our votes to be counted, that meets a standard that does not exist yet."
Harold Jones, county council chairman, said of all the information, "I'm really not sure. It's the most confusing thing I've ever seen."
