santafegal
07-10-2008, 10:56 PM
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner announced plans in February to scrap the practice known as "sleepovers" because of security concerns. But her proposal is being attacked by county elections officials who argue that the custom makes it easier to transport machines to polling sites.
Brunner has frequently referred to a Licking County poll worker who took a machine home for safekeeping and improperly voted on it, fearing there wouldn't be enough time on Election Day.
Election officials say safeguards prevent such a tampered machine from being used at the polls because it would not have the required vote tally of "zero" before voting began.
Sleepovers are prevalent in Ohio counties that use touch-screen voting machines and are sometimes used in counties with machines that scan paper ballots. The practice enables poll workers to pick up voting machines and other equipment such as memory cards in the days before the election, keep them at home and then take them to polling locations on Election Day.
One alternative would be to lock voting machines inside polling places for a few days, Cunningham said.
"You got two choices — you're either going to have a machine unattended at a polling location for a few days or you are going to have a machine in the hands of a poll worker," he said. "Pick your poison."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080710/ap_on_el_ge/voting_machine_sleepovers_1
I never heard of people taking voting machines home? There has be be a better option, security-wise.
Brunner has frequently referred to a Licking County poll worker who took a machine home for safekeeping and improperly voted on it, fearing there wouldn't be enough time on Election Day.
Election officials say safeguards prevent such a tampered machine from being used at the polls because it would not have the required vote tally of "zero" before voting began.
Sleepovers are prevalent in Ohio counties that use touch-screen voting machines and are sometimes used in counties with machines that scan paper ballots. The practice enables poll workers to pick up voting machines and other equipment such as memory cards in the days before the election, keep them at home and then take them to polling locations on Election Day.
One alternative would be to lock voting machines inside polling places for a few days, Cunningham said.
"You got two choices — you're either going to have a machine unattended at a polling location for a few days or you are going to have a machine in the hands of a poll worker," he said. "Pick your poison."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080710/ap_on_el_ge/voting_machine_sleepovers_1
I never heard of people taking voting machines home? There has be be a better option, security-wise.