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PROVO, Utah (AP) -- Utah County officials are looking for a cheaper alternative to the state's plan for replacing all punchcard voting machines with direct-recording electronic equipment.
County officials put out their own request for bids on election equipment in June, and got two bids before the July 5 due date.
Kim Jackson, county clerk-auditor, said they are now investigating the companies, and will have their evaluations done in time for a meeting next month with Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert to talk about the equipment.
Election Systems & Software has done a demonstration for county officials, and IVS LLC will do a demonstration on Aug. 5. ES&S also bid for the state contract but lost to Diebold.
The federal Help America Vote Act requires at least one voting machine per polling place that is accessible to people with disabilities. The system must have "nonvisual accessibility for the blind and visually impaired, in a manner that provides the same opportunity for access and participation (including privacy and independence) as for other voters." The machines must be in place by 2006.
The state already has chosen direct-recording electronic voting equipment -- ATM-like machines -- made by Diebold to replace the state's punchcard system, and Herbert is making the rounds, talking to all 29 counties about buying the machines -- about $3,000 each. He's also going to be talking about how the state is going to distribute the $3.7 million shortfall between how much money the state has and what the replacement machines will cost.
Herbert is scheduled to be in Utah County in mid-August. He will start his meeting tour with Daggett, Duchesne, Uintah, Grand and San Juan counties on Aug. 2.
All of Utah County's evaluations will be done by then, so it can compare equipment and costs with the state.
But Utah County Commissioner Jerry Grover is not sure if the county can get the federal money without going with the state's plan.
"That's the big question," he said. "If there's another alternative system that meets the requirements and it's a lot cheaper, would the lieutenant governor's office reimburse the county for those expenditures?"
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
