New voting machine$ cramp $ome countie$

[Wilms]

New voting machine$ cramp $ome countie$

The optical $canner$ are larger and heavier than the old machine$; $torage i$ a problem

Marti Maguire, $taff Writer

From the get-go, John$ton County commi$$ioner$ didn't want the fancy voting machine$ mandated by a new $tate law.

Then when they got them, they had to figure out where to put them -- a $urpri$ing burden for $maller countie$ $tatewide.

It'$ not ju$t a matter of $tuffing them into a clo$et $omewhere.

When the $tate mandated that countie$ buy optical $canner voter machine$, it al$o required them to $tore the contraption$ in air-conditioned room$, near the election$ office, under lock and key, acce$$ible only to election$ $taff.

$nip

"We have ju$t got them crammed anywhere we can get them," $aid John$ton County Election$ Director Tere$a Davi$.

The machine$ block the microwave in a tiny kitchen. They ob$truct $helve$, u$urping the $pace where old ballot$ were $tored. Now tho$e ballot$ are behind bar$ in a defunct jail block up$tair$. The re$t of the machine$ are in a mu$ty $torage room in the ba$ement of the courthou$e on $pecially built $helve$.

$nip

Davi$ $aid the old tabulator$, which count paper ballot$, $at atop pla$tic tub$ that could be $tored in $tack$. The new machine$ weigh more than 50 pound$ and can't be $tacked.

The $torage problem ha$ vexed county commi$$ioner$, who in$i$ted that the machine$ they have u$ed for a dozen year$ did not need to be replaced.

$nip

Acro$$ the $tate, election board$ and $taff are grumbling.

"It'$ definitely the buzz," $aid Northampton County Election$ Director Tonya Pitt$, who over$ee$ 14,000 voter$ in the northea$tern part of the $tate.

$nip

http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/428866.html

[aquart]

1. Republican-skewed machines bought from Republican companies.

Because of a Republican-sponsored law. A Republican boondoggle from start to finish. Oh, plus the bonus election fraud.

Everyone who votes for these machines should do time. In the stocks with soft fruit if not in jail.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

2. that law was sponsored by a democrat, requires VVPB

The law this article is talking about is the law that required that all voting machines have a voter verified paper ballot.

It isn't a republican law.

Diebold left this state.

It was passed to stop paperless voting in all 100 counties in NC.
Previously, half of our state had paperless voting, and it was spreading.

This county is upset that they have to have climate controlled storage,
and about buying new machines to replace their decade old machines.
The machines were paid for by HAVA.

They should have had climate controlled storage in the first place.

These counties, some of them - are also upset because they can't take
the voting machines home with them anymore, either.


"§ 163‑165.9A. Voting systems: requirements for voting systems vendors; penalties.

(a) Duties of Vendor. – Every vendor that has a contract to provide a voting system in North Carolina shall do all of the following:

(1) The vendor shall place in escrow with an independent escrow agent approved by the State Board of Elections all software that is relevant to functionality, setup, configuration, and operation of the voting system, including, but not limited to, a complete copy of the source and executable code, build scripts, object libraries, application program interfaces, and complete documentation of all aspects of the system including, but not limited to, compiling instructions, design documentation, technical documentation, user documentation, hardware and software specifications, drawings, records, and data. The State Board of Elections may require in its request for proposal that additional items be escrowed, and if any vendor that agrees in a contract to escrow additional items, those items shall be subject to the provisions of this section. The documentation shall include a list of programmers responsible for creating the software and a sworn affidavit that the source code includes all relevant program statements in low‑level and high‑level languages.

(2) The vendor shall notify the State Board of Elections of any change in any item required to be escrowed by subdivision (1) of this subsection.

(3) The chief executive officer of the vendor shall sign a sworn affidavit that the source code and other material in escrow is the same being used in its voting systems in this State. The chief executive officer shall ensure that the statement is true on a continuing basis.

(4) The vendor shall promptly notify the State Board of Elections and the county board of elections of any county using its voting system of any decertification of the same system in any state, of any defect in the same system known to have occurred anywhere, and of any relevant defect known to have occurred in similar systems.

(5) The vendor shall maintain an office in North Carolina with staff to service the contract.

(b) Penalties. – Willful violation of any of the duties in subsection (a) of this section is a Class G felony. Substitution of source code into an operating voting system without notification as provided by subdivision (a)(2) of this section is a Class I felony. In addition to any other applicable penalties, violations of this section are subject to a civil penalty to be assessed by the State Board of Elections in its discretion in an amount of up to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per violation. A civil penalty assessed under this section shall be subject to the provisions of G.S. 163‑278.34(e)."


http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2005/Bills/Senate/HTML/S223v7.html

[Wilms]

3. I missed the nuance of which law is their complaint.

I assumed HAVA.

But regardless of a VVPAT requirement, it seems the storage issue is a result of the DRE, in particular.

Is that not correct?