County vote tabulation system info available on the Web

["Alan Crandall" <ipix@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I know this is a few days old but, well I was in Iowa.  See you tonight.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
16 January 2004

Contact: James Burrus, Media Information Officer, 303-441-1622 or
        Tom Halicki, Elections Manager, 303-413-7745

Information about recommended replacement voting system on Web

        Boulder County Clerk and Recorder Linda Salas today announced that
information about the vote tabulation system she plans to recommend will be
posted on the clerk's Web site beginning Friday evening, Jan. 16.
        At a public hearing on the issue scheduled for 2 p.m. Jan 29, Salas
will be recommending that the Boulder County Commissioners purchase the
Ballot Now digital ballot imaging system from Hart InterCivic. Information
about the Ballot Now system can be found at the Clerk and Recorder's Web
page at <http://www.co.boulder.co.us/clerk/>
        Salas is recommending that the Hart InterCivic Ballot Now system
replace the county's aging DataVote punch card system that was in use for 28
years. One of the card counters for the DataVote system became unreliable
during the 2002 election and the federal government is prohibiting the use
of punch card voting systems in the future, necessitating the county's
purchase of a new voting system.
Boulder County began the search for a new system last year, but made the
decision in December that it would not be purchasing a direct record
electronic (DRE) voting system until federal standards are issued regarding
security and access for disable voters.
DRE's are commonly referred to as touch screen systems, similar to ATM
machines, that record votes electronically on a memory pack. Instead, the
clerk's office is recommending a system where votes are marked on a paper
ballot, similar to the ones used in the last mail ballot election, and the
ballots are counted at a centralized location.
A paper ballot system was part of the initial request for proposal sent out
last summer because that is what Boulder County uses for its absentee
ballots.
The materials being posted explain how Ballot Now fits in the overall
election process and demonstrate reports that the system produces.
Hart InterCivic agreed to allow the material to be publicly posted ? absent
proprietary material ? in response to a request from Boulder County.
Generally, these materials are not public record until after a decision is
made to purchase a vendor's products.
        -30-


James Burrus
Boulder County Media Information Officer
w) 303-441-1622
h) 303-444-7933
pager) 303-441-3851, #5806
the body of the message.