We're Gonna' Need More Voting Machines

The municipal general election last week was, we all know, a disaster. Long lines existed at times. Many people think it takes too long to vote on the Express Vote XL. There were complaints about sensitivity. Council member Tara Zrinski even complained about bad election judges, and at my polling place. Without discounting any of these complaints, they pale in comparison to a much bigger one - the wrong results! As a result of a programming error, judicial candidate Abe Kassis was shown as having garnered practically no votes when the paper ballots show he actually won the race! Ironically, what saved this election is the Express Vote XL.

Since the voting machines have been impounded, it will be next month before Electronic Systems & Software (ES&S) can determine what went wrong, and even more importantly, why the "logic and accuracy" testing done each machine failed. This error affected both the computer printouts when the polls closed as well as the flash drives in each machine. Under these circumstances, how can we say that the know the paper ballots are accurate? This is a question I had last week. This concern is what led Council member Peg Ferraro to say she has "no confidence in the paper ballots."

As I thought about it, I realized the paper ballots are accurate. The reason is because every person who voted on the Express Vote XL had an opportunity to review his ballot. If the programming error extended to the ballots, votes for Kassis would have shown up as no vote or as a vote for someone else. If that happened, sooner or later, voters would notice and reject their ballot. With a second and third ballot, this mistake would continue. But that never happened. No voter has stepped forward to claim his choices failed to appear on the paper ballot. So I am confident in the accuracy of the paper ballot.

This is called redundancy. It's why The Express Vote XL, despite its inauspicious debut, was the correct choice.

Had we relied on paper, the scanner could read the selections incorrectly. It could fail completely. I prefer having two redundant systems, which is what The Express Vote XL provides. ES&S, which serves 3,000 of the nation's 10,000 voting jurisdictions, has a compelling business interest in finding and eliminating its error. It also needs to adjust machine sensitivity. Its business reputation demands nothing less. Other Pa. counties may shy away from this system because of our negative experience, but the system is working fine in New Jersey, Delaware and South Carolina.

Having said that, next year's election is a Presidential race, and turnout will be heavy. For that reason, I have three recommendations aimed at enabling people to vote quickly.

1) We're Gonna' Need More Voting Machines. - My experience is that that it took voters slightly longer to vote with the Express Vote XL than with the previous touchscreen. Some people insist it took a lot longer. If there are more voting machines in the county's 125 precincts, it necessarily follows that voting will be quicker. I would buy an additional 125 machines, and buy them now so we can take advantage of the 60% match being offered by the state. This assumes that ES&S finds and remedies its software problem.

2) Get Electronic Poll Books Already! - When you go to vote, you need to check in first. Once your name is located, which seemingly takes forever, you can sign it and then stand in another line to vote. Electronic poll books, known as e-poll books, can help a poll worker find you right away. What's more, if you are at the wrong precinct, it will tell workers instantly where you need to go. This is a big time saver, and was in place in about half of all voting jurisdictions in the 2016 Presidential race. It's been used in Lehigh County for the last three election cycles, and poll workers there tell me it's great because it saves you time.

Northampton County has been reluctant to order them because of the danger of cyberattack. This is why you would use an e-poll book that has been hardened against accidental or malicious tampering with a wireless private network that is thoroughly tested. Pennsylvania has certified e-poll books.

3) All Hands on Deck! - The County should seek volunteers from its workforce who are willing to spend their eight hours on election day assisting poll workers. If they are not registered voters or do not live within the county, they can still help manage lines. If they are registered voters they can take an oath and assist people signing in.