Cuyahoga County to Begin Using Electronic Voting Machines

by Greater Cleveland Voter Coalition

The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections held a public hearing on Oct. 17 on its plans for introducing electronic voting machines into the County. Representatives of the Coalition spoke, along with many others. The Board of Elections presented its plans for introducing electronic voting machines into Cuyahoga County, and heard public questions and comments about those plans.

Under the Help America Vote Act, about 5,000 machines will be purchased for Cuyahoga County using HAVA money. The Board of Elections chose Diebold as the vendor for these machines. The County is in the process of deciding whether to provide funding for an additional 900 Diebold machines.Diebold. in order to have a better ratio of machines to voters than the minimum required by law. The cost to the County will be in the neighborhood of $5 million.

Many questions were asked at the public hearing about the machines, the process by which the County Board of Elections made its decision to use Diebold as the vendor, and the contract between the county and the vendor it has chosen. Some speakers were concerned about the security of the machines, and about negative experiences some voters in other states have had using the machines.

At a meeting of the County Commissioners on Nov. 17, Coalition Co-convener Cynthia Samples asked what plans there are for educating the public about the machines. She warned of likely malfunctions, long lines and confusion on the part of voters, and the probability that elderly voters will experience many difficulties with the machines.

For more information on the County’s plans check the Board of Elections web site at http://boe.cuyahogacounty.us/boe.