Columbus, Georgia

Referrals From Mayor and Council-06/18/2002



Subject Voting Equipment



Description As it relates to the letter received from the Secretary of State's

Office regarding the new voting equipment, have the staff to make sure that

before we spend $90,000 for this new equipment, that we really need to spend

that much money (Councilor Turner Pugh). Also, have the staff to determine

when will we be reimbursed for purchasing this equipment (Councilor Allen).



Received From



Assigned To Nancy Boren



Response To obtain the # of additional DRE voting equipment needed, we took

registration data from April 2000 through November 2000 which showed the number

of registrations processed during that time period. We then compared the

registration data for May 2002, which showed a gain of 810 versus a gain of 517

during the same month in 2000. Based on this data, the actual gain increased

over 50%. Applying this data to the remainder of the year through November, if

the number of monthly registrations increases by 50%, the increase in the

number of registered voters should be approximately 9300 voters (6,200 from May

2000 to November 2000). When this number is added to the current number of

registered voters as of May 2, 2002, an anticipated total of active registered

voters become 84,000. The state is providing the county with equipment for

80,400 voters (in April, 2002, we had 80,718 active registered voters). The

difference between these two numbers is approximately 3600. Therefore, it is

anticipated that 18 additional pieces of DRE equipment will be needed to meet

the mandate of one for every 200 voters.



Currently, we have a 10% machine replacement capability for equipment that may

become inoperable during election day. This is the recommended standard from

the current vendor, Election Systems and Software and the state?s contracted

vendor, Diebold. We realize that the additional purchase of 40 pieces of

equipment is unreasonable during such a tight budget year but the seven pieces

of DRE voting equipment would partially allow for the replacement of equipment

that could not be repaired on site during election day. With the current

equipment and only 47 optical scanners in use, versus 419 pieces of DRE

equipment, there have been occasions where 4 pieces of equipment have been

temporarily out of service because of problems encountered on election day.

Actual equipment failure data on the new equipment is not available at this

time.



The request for six VIP headsets, which are the ADA modifications for voting

equipment, is based on one for the newly created precinct at Midland Middle and

a 10% recommended replacement for election day failures.



The state is providing feeders for absentee ballot optical scanners to those

counties with 100,000 or more registered voters. The optical scanners without

feeders require the ballots be manually inserted into the scanner. The feeder

will allow 1800 ballots to be fed into the scanner during an hour. With over

4000 absentee ballots in each election, these feeders will provide for timely

returns to which the citizens of the county have become accustomed.



Encoders are required for each precinct and imprint the ballot on the ?Smart

Card?. The state is providing two encoders for each precinct. With 14 of our

precincts newly split, several in a three way split; additional encoders will

be needed for primary elections. Each encoder will accommodate only 6 ballot

styles. In primary elections, and certainly in precincts with three splits,

there is the possibility of having ten or more ballot styles. An additional

encoder for each precinct would provide ease for voters and election

workers.





In reference to the referral from Councilor Allen, it has not been determined

at this time whether any funds spent by the counties for the new voting

equipment mandated by the state will be reimbursed. If it is determined that

there will be a reimbursement, I will advise the Mayor and Council at that

time.