http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_3624141

Article Launched: 03/21/2006 4:27 AM PST

Accessibility improvements considered for county voting system

The Times-Standard

EUREKA -- County Clerk Carolyn Crnich will give a progress report today on the Election Advisory Committee formed to help ease discussion on election-related issues.

The report will be given to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors at today's meeting, which starts at 9 a.m.

”I would like to emphasize to your board that this is a committee made up of very dedicated citizens from each of your districts,” said Crnich in a written report to the board. “They have volunteered their time to make a positive improvement that will benefit all of our community. We have engaged in constructive conversations in a respectful manner even when opinions have differed.”

As part of the report, Crnich is asking that the board approve the purchase -- at a cost of around $200,000 -- of the VotePad system for use in each polling place by disabled voters. The money would come from the reserve for contingencies, but may be reimbursed through the Help America Vote Act.

Crnich is also asking that the board allow the county to negotiate to implement a pilot project for the tracking of absentee ballots.

The Voter Confidence Committee has put out a press release about the meeting, and is asking that people turn out to demand that the county forego using Diebold voting machines and return to hand-counted paper ballots.

Dave Berman, a founder of the Voter Confidence Committee, claims the Diebold machines are illegal.

”Polite and passionate speakers are greatly needed to escalate the resistance to the illegal Diebold machines that count our votes in secret and are unreliable,” said Berman.

County Elections Officer Lindsey McWilliams has said that the county's Diebold machines are legal and certified by the California secretary of state.