Voting machines

== Background ==
Mark Rauterkus spoke at a public hearing before the Allegheny County Council as it considered new voting machines in 2005.
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* Planks about voting machines from Mark Rauterkus are with other democracy planks
== News from Eastern PA ==
The last punch-card voting system in the Philly metropolitan area will be sent to the junkyard in 2006 because of a federal mandate that is creating headaches for local officials. 
 
The punch cards, which have been used in Chester County since 1981, as well as the old lever machines in Delaware and Bucks counties, are all being ditched, as a direct result of Florida's botched 2000 presidential vote.
Congress passed the Help America Vote Act in 2002, which standardized voting procedures and in effect mandated that jurisdictions upgrade to electronic machines in time for the 2006 federal primaries. The state got $134.2 million in federal money to help pay for the new equipment.
But state officials said the federal government was slow to approve new voting systems, delaying action on the state's part despite a Dec. 31 deadline for every county to have a new system lined up.
By last Friday, the state had approved five systems _ and more may be approved later _ so local counties say they will be able to make a choice in the coming weeks.
The delays meant counties were forced to meet the year-end deadline by adopting resolutions that commit them to spending the federal money without specifying what system they will buy. They are expected to make their final decision on equipment before the end of this month.