HAVA changes face of election process for area residents
By SHARON KERR Staff Writer

HAVA, the Help America Vote Act of 2002, became national law to address several concerns raised by the presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore in 2000. The first sentence of the act says it is "to establish a program to provide funds to states to replace punch card voting systems..."

After the fiasco of hanging chads in Florida, congress enacted HAVA, and gave teeth to the act with funds to ensure that resources would be available to the people who run elections.

In Texas, that means county clerks' offices; very few counties have separate county election administrators.

Each state is required to file a HAVA plan. In Texas, the Secretary of State's office is part of a pilot program to maintain a statewide database of registered voters for all 254 counties, more than 12 million voters.

The purpose is to ensure that voters can only register to vote in one county, and the goal is that by the next presidential election in 2008, all states should be linked to ensure that people with multiple residences only register to vote in one state.

Jasper County Clerk Debbie Newman says that under HAVA the county has been able to purchase state-of-the-art Automark voting machines.

Electronic marvels

"To say that elections have changed since I came to office in 2000 would be a slight understatement," Newman said. "As a results of the 2000 presidential election upsets, local election procedures have come under intense scrutiny, and as a result, have been completely restructured.

"HAVA set up a minimum standard for all election procedures (including) several new changes our office had to make over the past six years, and the biggest change has been the introduction of electronic voting machines."

Newman said she went to several different schools for two years before deciding which electronic machine would be best for Jasper County.

The Commissioners' Court allowed her to make the decision. She selected Automark because it has a paper ballot backup, which is important if a tight race is contested, then a recount becomes necessary.

"It has been said that the government is coming back now, and those who chose a total electronic system will have to have some form of paper backup," Newman said.

The machines, purchased with HAVA funds, have several other built-in advantages.

For the sight impaired, type size can be increased several times, or the white background with black letters can be reversed.

"It's easier for people with macular degeneration to read the black screen," Newman explained.

For someone completely blind, the simple keypad has Braille markings. With headphones on, the voter can hear each question and can even set the speed at which the question is read or have it repeated.

For all voters, the computer prompts them through the voting process. If you choose to skip an issue, or to vote only two selections where three are allowed, the computer asks, politely, if that is what you meant to do. You can skip ahead or go back and change your vote. In fact, at any point in the process, voters can review their answers and change their vote.

When they indicate they are finished, the machine prints a paper ballot, and the voter has one final chance to review the selections.

"Even at that point," Newman said, "a voter has the option to say, 'Oops, I changed my mind' and return the ballot to the election official."

At that point, the officials will "spoil" the ballot by marking off that number and filing it in a separate envelope, and the voter will return to the voting booth to try again.

"Of course, they can decline to use the machine at all," Newman said, "and we will provide them with a paper ballot they can mark themselves."

But if the voter is messy on the hand-written ballot, the machine that reads it will kick it out. Then it goes to a three-person resolution committee who must try to decide the voter's intent in marking the ballot.

"Sometimes it's clear what they meant," Newman said. "Either they didn't fill in the oval completely, or they had a stray pen mark, or they clearly crossed out something and marked another choice."

But if all three members of the resolution committee can't agree, the ballot is set aside and does not count.

By law all ballots, both handwritten and electronically generated, are kept on file 18 months before shredding.

Curb service HAVA includes more than making electronic machines mandatory. The Texas HAVA plan dictates they will conduct an "exhaustive and aggressive voter outreach campaign." That includes making the voting process more accessible.

In Jasper, Newman has instituted curbside voting for the handicapped. They have a reserved parking space where they can ring a bell that will bring two election workers to their vehicle.

There is a whole procedure the two workers must follow, including turning their backs while the voter marks the ballot, and taking care not to influence the voter in any way.

Newman has her regular staff of Barbara Jacks, Diana South, Mary Stephens, Sheila Houston, Cynthia Clark, Chrysti Marshall, Patty South and Gina Folsom, but the county clerk's office must continue normal operations during the early voting and elections preparations. They only close for Election Day and half the next day- otherwise it's business as usual.

The Secretary of State's office estimates it takes 125 workers for an election in a county like Jasper. They are temporary workers paid not much more than minimum wage for 12- 14 hour days. Newman has to train and rehearse these election workers in an ever-changing set of rules which try to guarantee every voter an equal, unbiased opportunity.

With all of the time, effort and expense to hold an election and give voters the opportunity, Newman says typically only about 25 percent actually exercise their right to vote.

The deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 6 election is Oct. 9, less than a week away. It's free, requires only identification, and can be done at the Jasper courthouse, any sub-courthouse, or online at www.sos.state.tx.us.

This is part two of a series by Jasper County Clerk Debbie Newman to inform and encourage people to exercise their right to vote. In the coming weeks The Jasper Newsboy will cover election preparations and security, and more on the issues. Email your questions on elections to reporter@jaspernewsboy.co m.