Request Part of Supplemental Budget
Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, March 17, 2006; Page B04
Gov.
Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) is seeking $21.8 million to change voting
machines for the coming election as part of a $400 million supplemental
budget he submitted yesterday to the General Assembly. The State Board of Elections, however, said yesterday that it would
take nearly twice as much money to switch from touch-screen machines to
a system that uses paper ballots. And the board refused to endorse
dropping Maryland's touch-screen machines for the September primary.
"How in the heck are we going to do this in six months and not drop
the ball?'' said board Chairman Gilles W. Burger, explaining the
board's decision. "We know what it takes, and we do not want to
jeopardize the ability to conduct a successful election."
The
election board, after a private meeting Wednesday, did embrace the
governor's call for two new security tests of the touch-screen
machines, which critics contend are vulnerable to hacking that could
affect the outcome of elections.
Last week, the House unanimously
passed legislation to lease optical-scan machines for one year, and the
governor asked the board to join him in backing that approach. The
decision by the election board adds uncertainty about how Maryland
voters will cast ballots this year.
"I don't think it's a
setback," Ehrlich's policy director, Joseph M. Getty, said of the
decision by the five-member panel, which includes four Ehrlich
appointees. "They recognize the shortcomings with the equipment. The
governor's position is whatever is worked out needs to have a paper
trail."
Since 2002, Maryland has invested $90 million in a
statewide system of touch-screen machines manufactured by Diebold
Elections Systems. State Elections Administrator Linda H. Lamone has
defended it as the most accurate in the country. But questions about
the security of Diebold machines in California and other states have
renewed calls to revisit Maryland's system, which uses similar
technology.
Mark Radke, Diebold's director of marketing, said of
the board's plan for new tests, "We welcome the opportunity to
demonstrate once again that Maryland has the most accurate and most
secure system."
The sponsor of the optical-scan legislation, Del.
Sheila E. Hixson (D-Montgomery), estimated a cost of at least $13
million to lease a paper system. But the election board reviewed a
proposal Wednesday from a company called Elections Systems &
Software to lease 6,000 machines to the state for $39 million.
Senators
appear headed in a different direction. In a preliminary review of the
governor's supplemental spending plan yesterday, budget writers said
money for a new system should be tied to other legislation and
redirected most of the $21.8 million to an electronic voter registry to
guard against fraud in early voting.
Senators have talked with
Diebold officials about using a small number of touch-screen machines
that provide a paper receipt. Radke has discussed with senators a
limited pilot program that he estimated would cost $50,000. That
approach, however, would not satisfy Ehrlich or paper trail advocates
who consider it a "band-aid."
The Senate is poised today to
approve its $29 billion spending plan for fiscal 2007, in addition to a
revised supplemental budget. The House plans to debate its version of
the budget next week.
Ehrlich's $433 million plan also would
allow the state to hire 160 more prison guards, freeze tuition for
undergraduate students at public colleges and universities, increase
monthly payments for foster families and help low-income households
cope with rising energy costs.
It includes $10 million for a
University of Maryland Journalism School building, $1.25 million for
maintenance and repairs to the State House and $65,000 to defray travel
costs for the Morgan State University choir's concerts in Prague.
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