More than two years ago, Kauffman began to wonder if there might not be a better system to replace the punch-card voting method Harris County has been using for years. She gathered around her those who best know the mechanics of voting, of conducting elections, of having their own political fates depend on a voting system, and she called in those who know the ways of county finances. But, boy, to hear them tell it, they sure were inspired. Since then, voting machine companies have merged and emerged, grown and gone bust. So, once again Kauffman has assembled a task force, one whose members were asked to spend about four full days hearing and seeing the quite varied systems and sales spiels of four companies.
None has a vote in the matter.
Nor do the hundreds of party poll workers and folk with special interest in election methods who dropped by to make their own evaluations of the systems to share with Kauffman. Obviously, that too is Kauffman's charge to her primary task force which is hugely representative of the county community as a whole. There are Democrats and Republicans and nonpartisan officials from cities. There's someone from labor. There are computer whizzes and representatives from groups ranging from the most political to the League of Women Voters.