Centre County will get new voting machines if the Centre County Board of Commissioners follows a recommendation made yesterday by the Centre County Board of Elections.
The new machines would have a verifiable paper record, something the current touch-screen machines lack.
Commissioner Rich Rogers motioned yesterday morning to recommend new voting machines and Commissioner Jon Eich seconded the motion, putting the topic up for discussion at the next board meeting on Tuesday. Commissioner Steve Dershem opposed the motion.
Rogers and Eich cited the lack of a verifiable paper record as the main reason for procuring new machines. The machines under consideration are optical scan machines, which provide a record of all votes.
Chairwoman of Concerned Voters of Centre County Mary Vollero is excited by the board's decision.
"So many of us across the country have been working on this; to have it happen in our county is thrilling," she said.
On Tuesday the board will debate leasing or purchasing the new machines. Vollero supports purchasing the machines, rather than leasing them for four years.
"If we lease them, we give more control to the voting machine company. At the end of the four years we'll be at their mercy," she said. "I'm not in favor of doing this again in four years."
Dershem was vocal about his opposition to the recommendation. He thinks the county's current machines are adequate and costs involved with buying new machines will bring unwanted taxes to Centre County residents.
"It's difficult for me to support a motion that does that," he said.
He was vehemently against the idea of leasing machines and said after four years and more than $1 million spent to lease the machines, the county would not own anything.
He pointed out other counties use touch screens and said just because the old machines will no longer be made doesn't mean they don't work, comparing the situation to a car no longer in production.
"Just because Ford doesn't make it anymore doesn't mean I'm not going to drive it," he said.
Vollero understands Dershem's economic concerns, but believes having reliable voting machines is more important.
"I understand our economy is in a hard place, and he's worried about spending money, but ... running elections is one of the county's main duties," she said. "We're hoping the county will get reimbursed."
