OPINION: CT: New technology will require planning, training

Dec 13 2006

http://leisure.newstimeslive.com/opinion/edit.php?id=1024949

Connecticut voters and election officials have affection for the old lever voting machines, which are familiar and fairly reliable.

But come next November, Connecticut will make the switch to more modern voting technology -- optical scan devices.

Voters will mark their choices on a paper ballot, filling in an oval next to a candidate's name. Then the paper ballot will be put through an optical scan device and counted.

The new technology was tested during last month's election in a number of communities across the state, including Newtown.

The results were reliable, but the confusion predictable. After decades using the lever machines, voters and election officials were a bit wary of using new technology for something as important as voting.

The closeness of the 2000 presidential election shed light on problems with the nation's voting system.

Technology was old and unreliable, especially when a recount was needed. Since elections are run on a municipal or county basis, there were no uniform standards for voting technology.

Congress approved and President Bush signed legislation that sets standards for voting technology and provided some funding for the new machines.

The old lever machines, which don't create a paper trail, don't meet those standards.

For many Connecticut residents and elected officials, the end of the lever machine era seems nonsensical. After all, as many have said, they still work.

But election officials know the lever machines were not without problems. They have worked well over many years because Connecticut has dedicated election officials who did all they could to have well-run elections.

As the state makes the transition to new voting technology, it will take plenty of preparation. The machines have to be obtained and tested. Election officials will have to be trained. And voter education programs will be needed.

Next year is a municipal election year. That means long ballots to accommodate every office from mayor and first selectman to school boards and land-use commissions.

Long ballots, confused voters, unsure poll workers -- that is a mix that could spell disaster.

It probably won't. Voters are adaptable. The new technology is not complicated. And Connecticut has a history of running well-organized elections.

But the time to ensure disaster won't happen will come early in 2007 as plans to implement the new technology are made. Training poll workers and providing voters with the information they need to easily use the new technology will be essential for a successful Election Day.