KIRBY SAYS COMPUTER VOTING MACHINES "FRIENDLY"

(12/13/2005)

Calhoun County Clerk Richard Kirby said a special commission meeting scheduled for December 20 at 11 a.m. is to inform the public regarding changes in the county's voting system, switching to touch-screen computer voting. Kirby said the new computer voting machines were expected to arrive in the county yesterday. He describes computer voting as "friendly" and has been widely-accepted by seniors in most WV counties. Kirby said he expects to spend a considerable amount of time at the county's senior centers and other locations educating the voter public about using the machines. He said he plans to do special training on the machines, meeting with poll workers from the county's precincts. The commission voted 2-1 to replace paper ballots and the current optical scanning vote counting system. After Secretary of State Betty Ireland lobbied county clerk's about the advantages of the new system, about seven more counties were added to the list approving the computerized system. Thirty-three WV counties will now use computers for voting. The touch-screen system in WV, unlike many other states, requires a paper tape to record how individuals voted. County Clerks in WV have been assigned virtually all duties regarding elections, including filing for public office.

Hur Herald ®from Sunny Cal The information on these pages, to the extent the law allows, remains the exclusive property of Bob Weaver and Dianne Weaver The Hur Herald. All information may be freely used but must not be sold or used in any type of commercial endeavor, or used on any web site without the express permission of the owners ©Bob and Dianne Weaver, The Hur Herald, 1999, 2000, 2001