Orem City Council Votes for Paper Ballots

[helderheid]

Orem Council votes for opscan paper ballots
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650221750,00.html


Orem Council votes for paper ballots

OREM — The Orem City Council agreed Tuesday night that using
paper ballots read by an optical scanner would be a far more
cost-effective way of voting than borrowing expensive touch-screen
machines from the county.

City Recorder Donna Weaver presented pros and cons to the
council about the different voting methods, recommending the paper
ballot as the most logical choice.

Borrowing 143 touch-screen Diebold machines and the
corresponding encoders and memory cards from Utah County would cost
the city between $28,000 to $33,000 for a primary election. The cost
would increase to $38,000 to $43,000 for a general election — far
greater than the city's annual election budget of $56,000.

The paper ballots where voters fill in small ovals with a pencil
are a significantly less expensive choice, Weaver said, yet still
maintain the speed and accuracy of results because of the optical
scanner.

Optical scanning has been in place in several states for more
than 20 years, Weaver said, and is already used in Utah in connection
with provisional and absentee ballots.

Orem previously used punch cards, but the technology needed to
read the cards is quickly becoming outdated and difficult to find.

"We want the most user friendly for voters and for the workers,
and the one that would give us the most accurate return — that's
crucial,"

said Mayor Jerry Washburn. "I have no qualms in following this
recommendation."

[rumpel]

1. good for them!

:)

[helderheid]

2. If we don't impeach these guys, we damn well better be sure we have

fair elections to make sure these assholes never take over again!