Clerks want decision on voting machines

Friday, Nov. 28, 2003 | 9:22 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- If Secretary of State Dean Heller doesn't hurry up and decide which brand of touch-screen voting machines Nevada should have, the purchase should be postponed until after the 2004 election, the state's county and city clerks say.

Carson City Clerk Alan Glover, president of the association of clerks and election officials, sent Heller a letter dated Nov. 19 and released Wednesday that also said the group still believes that each county should "be responsible for selecting the equipment and vendor that will best meet the needs of the local voters within their respective jurisdictions."

Heller has previously said, however, that he will decide on one system for the entire state. He reiterated that intention Wednesday and said he plans to make a selection soon.

The competition boils down to Diebold and Sequoia for the $6 million to $8 million contract. Clark County has Sequoia machines.

Heller has been leaning toward Sequoia. He said Clark County recently spent $2 million in buying more machines for the next election. He said he "would like to step up" and pay some of that cost.

If he mandates the counties use Diebold, that will have a "huge impact," on Clark County, which would have to replace all of its machines, Heller said. That cost could be $16 million.

Heller said the present allocation should cover the cost of the new machines outside Clark County. He said he expects another $7 million to $9 million from the federal government but that money will also have to be used for other things needed to comply with the new voting rights act, such as access for the disabled and voter education.

Glover expressed concern about the secretary of state's delay in making his decision. "We had hoped that many of our issues would have been answered this past summer," he said.

"To date, we have not received any firm response. We now feel time is paramount," Glover said. "We cannot stress to you, in strong enough terms, the importance of communicating and working with the local election officials."

Heller said he wants all machines in the state to be similar. "If anything goes wrong, they (the federal government) will come after me."

He said the federal act gives him the responsibility and the money for the voting system in the state.

Glover said the training of the election personnel and the implementation of the software must be completed by Feb. 1 and the machines must be delivered by April 1.

Heller said he has concerns about published reports that question the security in the Diebold units.

Glover said the association of county clerks and county election officials met Nov. 13 and 14 and had all 17 counties represented at the meeting. Heller said he received a call from Glover at 5 p.m. on Nov. 13 inviting him to attend. He could not make it.