It’s possible to vote in seven foreign languages
Voting no longer has to be a pain. A new system introduced to Santa Monica this year makes for no lines, no hanging chads and less room for error when poll workers count ballots on election night.
Dozens of voters already have taken advantage of “Touchscreen” voting in the basement of the Main Library on Sixth Street since Tuesday, when the program was first offered. Citizens can vote via computer through Nov. 1.
The touchscreen ballot contains the same measures and contests as voters would see on their ballots at their regular polling precincts. The only thing different is that voters use their fingers to cast their vote instead of a stylus — the tool blamed for the hanging chad fiasco in Florida in 2000.
Santa Monica is one of 22 locations throughout Los Angeles County that offers touchscreen voting.
Citizens can simply go to a location, sign up and be issued a card with their identification that is inserted into the computer. No other touchscreen computer will read the card once it’s been used. The voter’s personal information is linked with other computers that are online with the county’s clerk and recorder’s office to check verification and to ensure people don’t vote twice.
Once people cast their votes, a disc in the back of the computer will record it. At the close of Touchscreen Early Voting, each machine will be unlocked by an employee at the clerk and recorder’s office and the cartridge will be removed and transported to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Headquarters where they will be secured until Election Day and then counted.
“It is a lot easier and there is less room for error,” said Grace Chee, an inspector working in the Santa Monica location. “There’s no question of how your vote will come out.”
Chee, who has worked in past elections at polling places, said touchscreen voting simplifies not only the voters’ jobs but hers too.
“We can process so many more voters than we can with paper and pen,” she said, adding she no longer will have to count each ballot because all of the information is on disc. “This is far more cost efficient in the long run.”
Voters on Wednesday said they voted early not only because it’s convenient but trying something different puts the excitement back in voting.
“I think it is the best thing ever,” said Sue Moss, who normally votes at the Ocean Park Library. “You don’t have to wait in line and I beat the crowd. Also I like to think of myself as an early adapter when it comes to technological advances.”
For Linda Piera-Avila, a home healthcare worker who visits patients in their homes, touchscreen voting was not only convenient but reassuring. Piera-Avila, who is a physical therapist for Saint John’s Home Health Agency, normally votes at Memorial Park.
“On Nov. 5, I don’t want to be sitting in a line when I need to be with patients,” she said. “It also encourages people to get involved in the system and anytime you can get people involved in the electoral process, I’m for it.”
There is one computer at the Santa Monica location dedicated for the visually impaired, which is equipped with headphones. All computers are wheel-chair accessible.
Besides English, the computer ballot is available in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese. All votes are considered absentee ballots.
Hours for the Santa Monica location are Monday through Thursday from noon to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. For other locations and times, check out www.lavote.net.
Officials recommend that people mark their voting choices in their sample ballot booklet before voting on the touchscreen. And to avoid possible lines, officials warn not to wait until the last minute because they anticipate more voters will use the touchscreen system as Election Day approaches.
“It has generated a lot of excitement,” Chee said. “Anyone in L.A. County can vote in any of these locations.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 24, 2002. Read the original PDF.