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Election officials asked to use increased security measures

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By MARC KOVAC

C-N Capital Bureau

COLUMBUS -- County elections officials need to implement increased security measures and take pains to ensure voting machines, ballots and facilities are safe, the head of the Stark County board told an audience in Columbus Wednesday.

"This is not the year to be complacent," said election board director Jeff Matthews. "... We will have scrutiny in every county. All counties will be subject to wild accusations and rumors. If you don't have these minimum security arrangements, you will be vulnerable to these kinds of allegations."

Matthews was part of a statewide group working to draft minimum security measures to be implemented at all elections board offices. He spoke during a "Summit on Voting Security," part of a statewide meeting of county elections officials headed by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.

Election board directors and board members spent three days in the state capital in preparation for the November general election and a voter turnout that Brunner has estimated could reach 80 percent. Sessions were offered on poll-worker training, precinct place access issues, voter identification requirements and absentee and early voting guidelines.

Wednesday's session kicked off with the security summit, with a focus on new minimum measures that boards will be implementing to reduce tampering or mishandling of voting machines and ballots. Additionally, county elections boards are being asked to submit security plans to the Secretary of State in advance of the November election.

"The more that we have things documented about how we handle the equipment, the better off we'll be in terms of having a transparent process," Brunner said. "And the more we have consistency across the state in terms of how we do this, the better positions we'll be in from a litigation or lawsuit standpoint."

Many elections boards already are using the minimum security standards outlined by Brunner's office, including requiring employees to wear identification badges, limiting access to areas where ballots and voting machines are stored and documenting the use or movement of such equipment.

"These are not difficult things to embrace, but they need to be embraced," Matthews said.

"For us, this means little change," said Wayne Olsson, director of the Defiance County Board of Elections. "I would say we are already doing 99 percent of what is being recommended. Much of it is common sense."

Olsson said one of the few changes involves having two poll workers (one from each political party) transport the voting cards from the individual polling places to the board of elections.

"We will be able to comply with that requirement very easily," said Olsson.

"What Jennifer Brunner is trying to do is to make everything consistent across the state, said Kathy Meyer, director of the Fulton County Board of Elections, who attended the three-day summit. "We were given a list (of operating procedures) and we will go over that list here in our office and then with our election board. For the most part, we are doing these things now."

Brunner said having the security plans and measures in place and available in writing will help to alleviate legal issues later.

"I am still dealing with about 20 lawsuits (as a result of elections overseen by the former Secretary of State)," she said. "... You don't want to deal with this for another four years, and neither do I."

She added, "If we all follow this, we all pay attention to it and implement it, I think we're going to see a lot (fewer lawsuits and a smoother election)."