Voting may turn costly for counties

PROVO — Repercussions from botched punch-card ballots in the 2000 presidential election are filtering down to Utah — and causing concern in Utah counties.

The federal Help America Vote Act, passed in 2002, requires states to meet certain voting machine standards, and a state-level committee is reviewing different options. Several counties, however, are concerned with the expense of replacing machines, as well as possible glitches.

One option being considered by the committee, and favored by states across the nation, is the direct-recording electronic voting machine, or DRE. Another option is optical scan systems like AutoMARK. But Utah County commissioners say even with federal funding to replace the current punch-card system, taxes will have to increase to pay for the new equipment.

"If we go with the completely DRE solution, it will require a huge tax increase for the county because we'd be adding 100 machines a year. That's $300,000 dollars, and that's not an option that I'd be particularly pleased and excited about," Utah County Commissioner Steve White said. "And that's just the cost of the equipment. That's not the set-up or programming or anything else. And that will continue until the valley is full."

Like many areas of the state, Utah County is growing rapidly. In 2000, the county had 207 voting precincts; now, there are 269. And while about $20 million in federal funding is available to Utah if punch-card machines are replaced, counties will still foot a chunk of the bill for new equipment.

How much depends on what equipment the state committee selects: DRE systems cost $3,000 to $3,500 each.

The Utah County commission hasn't made any decisions about the type of voting machines to be used but has asked county clerk/auditor Kim Jackson to explore various options, including purchasing just one DRE machine for each precinct or polling place to comply with federal law.

"It is in the state's interest to do certain things for federal monies which may or may not coincide with our interests, so we wanted to make sure that the county has had a thorough review of these voting systems before we make up our minds," said Commissioner Jerry Grover. "It's a work in progress."

Salt Lake, Cache and Wayne County clerks say they also plan to wait for state recommendations before making any decisions — but are concerned with possible costs.

"There's a lot that's going to come into play depending on the equipment that's selected," said Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen. "We will then of course have to review that with our County Council in Salt Lake and our mayor and determine whether it's affordable."