Older computers could be used as voting machine terminals by the time next Election Day comes around, making it easier and more cost-effective for voters.

Charles Gaston, assistant professor of engineering at Penn State York, was inspired by the 2000 presidential election to develop Savioc Voting Systems, a cheaper voting software program in which the operating system, program and ballot-defining file are on one disk.

"It would cost less than whatever is done now," Gaston said. "They would be able to be used, [but nobody is going to.]"

He said his voting software would be able to handle an election the size of the California governor recall, and would not have a large cost to implement.

"The equipment is basically free because the software runs on old computers," Gaston said.

The system allows older computers to be re-used in different ways, and Students for Computer Recycling to Offer Underrepresented Groups in Education (SCROUNGE), is a program that refurbishes older computers and distributes them. Penn State York has a chapter of the SCROUNGE organization.

"A computer that doesn't run, as far as Windows is concerned, can work for me," Gaston said.

While there is no longer a SCROUNGE chapter at University Park due to a lack of grant funding, the Computer Hardware Initiative Project (CHIP) addresses the need to refurbish and distribute those computers.

"We try to redirect [computers] to the people who actually need computers," said Jesse Migdal (senior-computer engineering), vice president of client relations for CHIP.

The voting software has been used for three Student Government Association elections at Penn State York, and it has been tested at grade schools and senior citizen centers. Gaston said more than 1,000 ballots have been cast using his software since last November.

The voting session begins and ends with the voter pressing the "Y" or "yes" key. The system would not allow for over-votes, and if the voter has not voted in each category, the system will alert the voter at the end of the session. The voter is allowed to go back and change which candidate he or she voted for until they press the final yes key.

Only three keys are involved in the program. The Y key allows voters to begin and end their voting session, the down arrow points to the chosen candidate and the spacebar allows the voter to select the candidate. If the voter wants to write in a candidate, they will need to type in the name.

Elderly, blind and disabled or handicapped voters can also use the program.

For legally blind individuals, extra large print is used on the machine. For completely blind people, an audio ballot and Braille keys are used. Gaston already had three blind people use the system with success.

At least one student said this could have an effect on the number of elderly voters.

"I think you would have a bigger turnout in the elderly population. You would see more elderly voters because they wouldn't be as intimidated," said Brooks Fisher (junior-journalism).

Penn State spokesman Gary Cramer said Gaston has a passion for his voting program.

"If people were willing to try something new, this is something that could help a lot of people," Cramer said.

Another Penn State student is unsure about the effect of the voting system on older voters.

"I think it will be useful for younger voters. It might not be as helpful for older voters," Rebecca Ho (graduate-architectural engineering) said.

Amanda Setlock (freshman-secondary education) said she thinks the voting system is a good idea.

"It gives more opportunities to a broader range of people," Setlock said.