It's all kid-in-a-candy-shop until the HAVA$ runs out.
Not to mention the "Outsourcing of Democracy". Right, Land Shark?
Texans divided over electronic voting
Web Posted: 02/23/2006 12:00 AM CST
Zeke MacCormack
Express-News Staff Writer
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Frustration with the cost surfaced in a recent discussion by Kerr County commissioners.
"We somehow struggled along for 150 years without any help from Washington and, all of a sudden, we've got an expensive solution to a non-existent problem," said Kerr County Commissioner Dave Nicholson.
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Officials there are weighing whether to pay Hart $51,000 to buy software to enable them to program the machines themselves and print ballots, or to pay Hart about $2,100 to set up the machines for each election, plus buying ballots.The choice also affects entities that plan to contract with Kerr County to hold their elections, like the Divide School District, which has 23 students.
"We didn't have any problem before, and the people are paying for it," said Divide Superintendent Bill Bacon of the prospect of paying $2,300 or more for elections that previously cost a few hundred dollars.The bill may run even higher for a new Vanderpool-area emergency services district that falls partially in Real, Uvalde, Bandera and Medina counties.
"Running an election with these new required voting machines could cost upwards of $10,000 to $15,000," Roger Swift, president of the district board, said Tuesday. "That means 10 or 15 percent of our revenue could just go to the election process" every year.
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http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA022306.3B.votingmachines.170d750f.html