Touch screen goes up in smoke

I arrived at Newport High School’s voting facility this morning at 6:15 a.m., to find there are already problems arising with the touch-screen voting booth.

There are only two booths here -- both Direct Response Electronic systems. One is similar to a lever machine but with buttons instead of levers; the other is a touch-screen machine designed for those with disabilities. The first person to use the touch screen machine at 6 a.m. voted, and the machine immediately began to smoke, emit a foul electrical smell, and the touch screen went blank. Poll workers were already on the phone trying to get it fixed when I arrived, and the gentleman who used the touch screen machine was still there, trying to verify that his votes will be counted. He asked for a provisional ballot in case they could not get the machine repaired, but the four poll workers were flustered and no one could agree on whether or not he should have one. I only stood in line for 15 minutes to vote, but I suspect that as the day progresses the lines in Newport will get longer and longer if they cannot get the touch screen machine fixed or replaced, and voters with disabilities will be unduly hindered. Submitted by Luann Gibbs