S.L. County balking at new voting machines

On top of that, more specialized poll workers will be needed at the county's 400 voting locations, meaning the standard $65 a day for poll workers will likely not cut it, Swensen said.

"It isn't the voters I'm worried about. My concern is having the people there in the trenches at the polling place that will make this thing function properly," she said. "It's going to be a whole different situation than what we had in the past."

Swensen will also ask County Council members to approve buying or leasing 25,000 square feet of warehouse space to store the electronic machines. And that space has to be climate-controlled and secure, Swensen added.

According to preliminary estimates, just to rent that space could cost about $12,000 a month.

On top of the storage and personnel Swensen will request today, she said there will undoubtedly be more costs down the road. Voter education, staff training, transportation costs and machinery repairs will all add up fast, she said.

Although County Council member Jenny Wilson said she will vote to give Swensen the needed funds, she still wants to look at other options that may be more cost-effective or more secure than the Diebold machines.

"Just knowing the troubles with technology, identity theft and other issues, I would hope we're not spending more money to have a system that is less reliable than the one that we're changing," Wilson said.

The state's choice of voting system was also questioned by several residents Monday at an Administrative Rules Review Committee.

Ghena Dalby, a retired teacher from Taylorsville, questioned whether the voting machines the state plans to buy will comply with a recently passed state law requiring a paper record be available for recounts.

Stephen MacDonald of the State Elections Office said the Diebold machines would produce that paper record but that no machines had been purchased yet because they are waiting to find out if Diebold Election Systems is also in compliance with national standards.

Still, Dalby said she applauds Utah County's decision to opt out of the state's Diebold plan.

"I would like to see the whole state follow Utah County's lead," she said. "Utah County made smart moves in terms of watching out for what choices will be to the benefit of its citizens."

MacDonald was not able to answer several concerns about whether the state has the equipment or funds to do a re-count if necessary.

---

Contributing: Tammy Walquist

E-mail: estewart@desnews.com