Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2003 | 10:58 a.m.
Secretary of State Dean Heller announced today he would sign a contract worth an estimated $8 million to purchase touch-screen voting machines from Sequoia Voting Systems, and he will require each unit to have a paper record for recounts.
The machines will be installed in Washoe and the rural counties in time for the 2004 election, he said. He also issued an order that punch-card voting machines will no longer be used after Sept. 1.
He told a news conference that Nevada becomes the first state to require voter verifiable receipts or printed ballots for the 2004 election.
The move comes after weeks of study and debate over the move to electronic voting systems. Sequoia won out over machines made by Diebold, which has made a strong push to win the contract.
Sequoia and Diebold had been competing for the contract for about 1,800 machines. Heller said he selected Sequoia for several reasons, including a report from the state Gaming Control Board on the security of Diebold.
Marc McDermott, chief of the electronic services division of the control board, issued a report after examining both units. He said he believed the Diebold electronic voting machine "represents a legitimate threat to the integrity of the election process." Diebold's software is available on the Internet and that makes it a security risk. He said Sequoia was "a much more secure option." Heller said that having one statewide voting system will also make it easier to have a statewide voter registration system by the 2006 election.
Some county clerks had pushed for Heller to allow them to choose the machines. Heller noted that Sequoia already supplies Clark County, which has 70 percent of the voters. He said the decision to go with Sequoia will mean that Clark County will be able to help rural counties if they run into problems; voting units can be switched to a county that encounters trouble and election personnel would be trained on the same system.
Diebold's bid would have required replacing all the machines in the state, including the 3,500 relatively new Sequoia voting units in Clark County.
Most of the complaints from the public have been about ensuring that any electronic unit adopted by the state will also provide a hard copy to be used in recounts. He said some machines in Clark County have the printers or voter verifiable receipts. He said he would provide money for all the units in Clark County to install them for the 2006 election.
The printing unit, which is installed on the side of the touch screen "allows voters to see their ballot choices on a written receipt under glass before finalizing the vote." If the voter disagrees with the information on the paper, he or she can change their selections on the touch screen.
The voter is not able to physically touch the receipt at any time during the voting process. The printed record is rolled up on a spool so that no one can see any person's voting choice. The receipts would be used if a recount were ordered.
He said many election officials across the nation and in Nevada feel these voter receipt units are not needed.
But Heller said voter confidence is critical to the integrity of the voting process.
The additional cost, he said "takes a backseat to accuracy, security and voter confidence," he said. It will add about $500 to the cost of each unit.
The money for the purchase of the machines comes from the federal government and is part of The Help America Vote Act passed after the troubles in the Florida election in 2000.
Heller said, "The Florida debacle and the chaos created by the 'hanging and pregnant chad' controversy clearly demonstrated the need to more forward with advanced technology. Direct Recording Electronic machines provide a greater ability to accurately record the will of the people."
Seven counties, including Carson City and Douglas counties, use punch cards.
Diebold had hired the political powerful law firm of Jones Vargas to lobby for them. But there was a barrage of e-mails to Heller's office and to newspapers advising against the purchase of Diebold units.
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