By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
CASSOPOLIS – Cass County commissioners learned how to vote Thursday.
Clerk-Register Barb Wilson demonstrated two new kinds of voting equipment Michigan selected to standardize the way ballots are counted.
An act signed by President George W. Bush on Oct. 29, 2002, created mandates for state and local governments and provided funding which enabled Michigan to replace its outmoded voting equipment.
The act also was designed to improve voting access for the disabled.
"Michigan received approximately $100 million," Wilson said. "Michigan chose an optical scan voting system that eliminated the outdated voting methods – punch cards, paper ballots and lever machines. In Cass County, we were already using optical scan in all townships but Volinia, Penn and Calvin. Otherwise, we were already using optical scan. But as of this year, everyone in the state of Michigan will have the optical scan equipment."
The state certified three vendors for the project. Then the county clerk, city clerk and township clerks met so voting equipment could be selected that would be uniform throughout Cass County, which was divvied up between two of the vendors.
"Right after I took office" at the beginning of 2005, "I set up a meeting with the three vendors and all of the clerks," Wilson said. "They demonstrated their products and the clerks voted on it. The first time this equipment was used was for the school election in May, then in August" for the primary.
"The federal government purchased this equipment for us," Wilson said. "Every precinct has its own optical scan." Voters darken an arrow beside the candidate or issue of preference, then the ballot is fed into the scanner for tabulation.
"It tells you if there are errors on your ballot," she said. "If you 'over-vote,' it spits it back out. You've probably all heard about the controversy that some states have had with touch-screen voting. This eliminates problems like Ohio had because there's a paper trail. You can always go back and recount the paper ballots, which is very helpful."
Wilson also demonstrated for commissioners AutoMARK, a terminal that is a ballot-marking device only. It doesn't tabulate.
"The AutoMARK provides an opportunity for voters with disabilities to vote – sometimes for the first time – privately and independently. I feel like voting is an important constitutional right," Wilson said. "It's important that we all have that equal opportunity. The state again paid for these. Each township has one of these."
Voters can use the device by touching the screen with their fingers, by using a stylus to touch the screen, by enlarging the text display or adjusting the contrast, using the keypad, which includes braille, by using a sip-and-puff the voter provides or by employing headphones to "listen" to the ballot.
Voters navigate from one screen to another by pressing such options as "next" or "back," to return to the previous screen.
On the keypad, a right arrow progresses to the next screen, a left arrow to return to the previous screen. Up and down arrows scroll throughout candidate and issue selections.
Voters review a summary screen to confirm their selections before they become official.
"For people who have not been able to vote secretly and independently, I think it really means a lot," Wilson said. "We had a clerks meeting last week and the Jefferson Township clerk said they had six people use it and they had the biggest smiles on their faces because they'd never been able to vote independently like that."
Also, Wilson said, "You don't necessarily have to have a disability to use this equipment. Anyone can. If you feel you want to try it Election Day, why not? I think it would be very helpful for people who have reading difficulties, or if you forgot your glasses. You can zoom in. Another great thing with AutoMARK is it will not allow you to over-vote or, in a primary, cross-vote. We're going to have fewer spoiled ballots."
Commissioners were skeptical, however.
"People who have never had anything to do with computers are going to be frightened to death," predicted Commissioner Johnie Rodebush, D-Howard Township. "They're going to be scared to death. They're going to panic."
"This is a much too complicated system for many, many voters who will be disenfranchised," added Commissioner John Cureton, R-Dowagiac.
"Change is hard for people," Wilson conceded. "But once you sit down and do it. I personally was intimidated, but I played with this thing and now I think, 'Why was I so frightened of it? Why did I think it would be so hard?' it's really not. Try it."