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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Friday, February 15, 2019

NorCo Elections Comm'n Ponders New Voting System

ExpressVote XL a top contender 
Northampton County's Elections Commission met yesterday to discuss, among other things, the new voting systems that the state wants in place before the Presidential election. These must contain a paper trail. Governor Wolf has given counties this mandate, but has only provided a pittance. The Commission decided to conduct a meeting again on March 6 to seek input on which system to recommend to NorCo Council for funding. The only No vote came from Chairman George Treisner. "Personally, I think it's a waste of time," he said.

On January 10, about 30 NorCo elections judges visited Lehigh County for a demonstration of several voting systems. According to Deputy Voting Registrar Amy Hess, a survey of these judges reveals they like the ExpressVote XL (previously discussed here) as well as Clear Ballot. Elections Commissioner Deb Hunter would like to invite some experts from Lehigh University to discuss these systems.

Hunter also expressed frustration at receiving the agenda on the day of the meeting, although it was pretty much identical to an "informational" meeting in December. She also complained about the meeting being set by the Administration. "These are our meetings," she complained, asserting the Commission's independence.  .
Bushkill Township resident Crystal Mulada spoke about moving elections from the Butz Elementary School to a nearby fire hall. "The voters of this Township are telling you they want [the polling place] changed," she argued.

Commission member Maudeania Hornik commented on an elderly voter who was struck and killed by a driver in the Forks Tp Community Center parking lot during November's election. "The Forks incident bothers me," she said. "I think it's horrible that someone went out to vote and lost their life." She noted that the parking lot there is always congested, and suggested that Forks officials be requested to cancel other events on election day. "I'm not telling them what to do," she stressed, but said that would make things safer.

Administrator Charles Dertinger said he would discuss the matter with the community center.

Complaints about the Upper Nazareth Municipal Building as a polling place are being reviewed, advised Solicitor Richard Santee. He said he had received a letter from Upper Nazareth Solicitor Gary Asteak.

Finally, Commissioners approved a referendum question in Lower Nazareth Township asking the voters if they would support an additional earned income tax of 0.25% for the acquisition of open space.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why must they be electronic? They are vulnerable to unauthorized manipulation.

Anonymous said...

What the Hell is Treisner talking about? Why is Hunter pissed off. These people are confusing. What the Hell is going on?

Anonymous said...

Hunter thinks she is important, tresner knows she is not

Anonymous said...

I vote in Bushkill and DO NOT want the polling place changed. I see the so-called concerned parents speeding through the school zone while on their cell phones as they drop the kids. Nobody's ever died at a school on election day. 11 kids a day die in accidents related to cell phone use. Perceived risk is often born of perceived ignorance. If these parents really cared, they'd address what's really endangering our children.

Anonymous said...

I'm curious about the complaints in Upper Nazareth. I've voted there for years and think it's fine.

Anonymous said...

Deb Hunter is the chosen one of the Democratic Party in Northampton County. Munsey has declared she is the caudate with the most.

Anonymous said...

The dems heavily recruit Hunter to run for offices. She is a sure winner just like Cozze was.

sezary said...

The ESS ExpressVote XL Full Face Voting System provides the full view of the entire ballot as well as being in one piece while meeting the paper ballot mandate. This would be closer, closest, to what voters experience now. The transition would appear to be the easiest with the least change to the voting process already in place.

The Unisyn Voting Solutions OpenElect Voting Optical Scan (OVO) makes a lot of sense. Although it would appear you would be taking a step backward on the front, or voter’s end, you would certainly be taking steps forward on the back end, the administrative (Northampton County) end. The transition to filling out paper ballots would not be as smooth, however, it could be accomplished. Paper ballots take away the bells and whistles of touch screen technology. However, it really is about each individual’s vote. Even if catastrophic events happen, God forbid, the integrity of the individual vote would be maintained with paper ballots. The improved scanning technology will help to maintain an electronic record as well and software is much more easily updated and the software would provide the elections office with improved vote tallying, record keeping and back up ballots actually filled out by the voter. The other systems only provide an electronic printout of the electronically recorded individual vote. Although, these other systems meet the new mandate, they still remain vulnerable to electronic manipulation. The Unisyn Voting Solutions OpenElect Voting Optical Scan (OVO) would be more flexible to meet future compliance issues and mandates. This is the best system, with the least risk to ensure the integrity of the vote. The integrity of the voting system should be sacrosanct.