|
KSU
has role in new voting - Center paves way for
machines Atlanta Journal
Constitution Bryan Long -
Staff Thursday, June 20,
2002 Georgia -- If Georgia's
first all-electronic general election goes smoothly this fall, much of the
credit will go to Kennesaw State University. The school received $500,000
to open a Center for Election Systems to coordinate election preparation with
the secretary of state and to teach election officials the technical side of new
machines that look more like automated teller machines than traditional paper
ballots. With qualifying for the Aug.
20 elections to end at noon Friday, the election season is officially in full
swing. The election center is led
by Neil Hall, a KSU professor of computer science. Hall and his team are working
behind the scenes to find and solve problems that will arise as the state
receives 19,015 electronic voting machines. The machines will be used in
November's election. This year, the center will
focus primarily on proving the machines work properly, but the work's scope will
expand in future elections. The idea is to create a one-call shop for election
problems. "If you're an election
official and you have a question but you don't know where that question should
go, call KSU," said Michael Barnes, assistant director of elections for the
secretary of state's office. The center has set up a Web
site and a toll-free number as quick ways to answer those questions.
It's a system that's unique
to Georgia. It's an inspiration that followed the problems of the 2000
presidential election and is directly tied to the state's purchase of a new
voting system. While many states have
looked to change election machines after the election, only Georgia has thrown
out all the old machines to make way for identical polling booths statewide.
"Every other state in the
country will be following what we're doing," Secretary of State Cathy Cox has
said. And to make sure Georgia
provides an example of the right way to roll out the system, KSU was asked to
monitor the process and provide technical assistance in the future. The
secretary of state and the university have worked together for years on other
projects. |