Reply #24: PA: County voter registration office set for upcoming mid-term elections

[EFerrari]

County voter registration office set for upcoming mid-term elections
By MONICA DUTKO
For The Evening Sun
Article Launched:10/11/2006 11:36:00 AM EDT

The Federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) and Pennsylvania's Act 150 of 2002 (amending the Pennsylvania Election Code) placed significant additional responsibilities on the county boards of elections and district election officials in an effort to standardize elections and build voter confidence in the electoral process.

HAVA and Act 150 both include voter identification requirements. The Election Code now requires that voters who appear to vote in an election district for the first time must present identification before being allowed to vote.

In addition to the requirements regarding voter identification, HAVA also requires at least one voting system in each precinct in every county to "be accessible for individuals with disabilities, including non-visual accessibility for the blind and visually impaired, in such a manner that provides the same opportunity for access and participation (including privacy and independence) as for other voters."

Under HAVA each county is required to update their voting systems to inform voters, at the time of voting, whether or not they have completed their ballot correctly. In other words, if an office on the ballot is a "Vote for One" and the voter casts a vote for more than one, this is considered an "overvote" and that particular race (the two votes) would not be counted. The new scanner system will alert the voter of the "overvote" and allow them to correct this by spoiling their ballot and obtaining a new ballot, to enable them to cast their vote correctly.

http://www.eveningsun.com/adamsweekly/ci_4475501