16 July 2004

Ohio Counties Can't Switch Vote Machines

July 16, 2004

By JOHN McCARTHY, Associated Press Writer

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Three counties that were considering electronic voting machines made by Ohio-based Diebold Inc. cannot switch by November because tests have shown security problems, Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell said Friday.

Hardin, Lorain and Trumbull counties will stick with their current systems, Blackwell spokesman Carlo LoParo said. Mercer County decided earlier this week to stick with its current system — punch-card ballots.

Some of the state's 88 counties already were using electronic voting machines, and the decision does not affect them.

Thirty-one Ohio counties had planned to replace their machines, but most backed out as the November election neared. Most of those counties use punch-card ballots, the type that plagued the Florida vote in the 2000 presidential election.

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