State Lifts Ban on O.C. E-Voting

Orange County's $26-million Hart InterCivic system was at the center of an election scandal in March when it was used for the first time and mistakes by poll workers led thousands of voters to cast ballots in races in which they were ineligible to vote, and prevented them from voting in races they should have.

Six weeks ago, citing security and reliability concerns, Shelley banned electronic voting systems for the November election but said 10 of the 14 counties that used them in March could regain his approval if they met a long list of conditions.

The remaining four counties -- San Diego, Solano, San Joaquin and Kern -- were banned from using their machines because the model had not received federal approval.

Orange County was the first large county to win the secretary's approval to use electronic balloting in November; Shelley approved Merced County's system Monday.

"They came to Sacramento and answered tough questions. I'm very pleased with their assurances," Shelley said. "One of the conditions of the recertification was that the poll workers be trained in the use of these technologies and that they submit a poll worker training plan. That gives me a level of confidence."

Orange County officials took a different approach from other counties affected by the secretary's April 30 ruling. Riverside, San Bernardino, Kern and Plumas counties have filed a federal lawsuit, scheduled to be heard July 2, that seeks to reverse the ban.

Among the requirements, Orange County agreed to provide paper ballots to voters who don't want to vote electronically and to preserve images of all ballots that could be printed in the event of a recount.

Orange County's machines will not produce paper receipts for voters to verify before leaving the polling place. Shelley said he would require all systems to produce such receipts by 2006 to be used in recounts and as backup if the systems malfunction.

Orange County met the secretary's requirements last month, but the secretary delayed approving its system until Hart agreed to hand over its "source code," the complex software that controls the voting and tabulating machines, so the secretary of state could test it.