Wood County’s touchscreen voting machines are aging but still in good shape for now, and they’re tested
before each election.
With Ohio’s secretary of state calling for an influx of technology or fewer regulations on what machines
can be used, the 618 touchscreen machines here are not experiencing significant problems, said Terry
Burton, director of the Wood County Board of Elections.
"We send a little higher percentage now for repair than we did five years ago, but we have not
noticed a dramatic uptick" in technical problems, Burton said.
Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted last week said the federal government should pay for upgraded machines
or ease restrictions on what states can allow counties to use.
Ohio spent $115 million for touchscreen and ballot-scanning devices from 2005 to 2006, and Husted urged
federal officials not to wait until a problem arises to fund such advances again.
But for now, Burton says Wood County’s machines are in good enough working order.
"We test them every election," Burton said. "We pull every machine out, and we test it
with the actual candidates that are going to be on that ballot to make sure the touch screen is reacting
the way it should."
The county uses 538 voting machines during a typical election, all touchscreen. Burton said an average of
8 to 12 need to be repaired each year in Dallas, with costs varying from around $150 to fix the plastic
exterior, up to $400 or $500 if the screen needs to be replaced. Each machine costs about $2,700.
While malfunction isn’t yet a critical concern, Burton said the state should begin to plan for an upgrade
in the next 5 to 10 years.
The problem is that by restricting what technology can be used, regulations have kept many manufacturers
from exploring new devices and technology.
"None of the companies are putting money into that research because regulations limit them so much
on what they can do," Burton said.SClB"I think they obviously need to look at maybe advancing
our technology versus reverting it. Going from touchscreen back to paper seems to be a step back for
us."