By Charles Romans
Carter County Times
Carter County fiscal court met in a special session last Thursday (June 27) to approve several items, including the purchase of new voting booths. The court also approved the minutes from the previous meeting, and voted to approve claims and transfers.
Central to the meeting was approval to spend the remaining $8,300 the court had received from the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). HAVA was passed by congress in 2002 to make sweeping reforms to the nation’s voting process. According to the United States Election Assistance Commission, ‘HAVA addresses improvements to voting systems and voter access that were identified following the 2000 election.’
The purchase in question was for voter booths to be set up at each precinct. This is expected to help facilitate both privacy and simplification of the voting process. The booths are not, and should not be confused with, the machines that actually tally the votes. The booths will accommodate four voters and allow them to mark their ballots, which they will then feed into the actual voting machine. The voting booths are also handicap accessible, with one of the four sections adjustable to wheelchair height.
The court had the option – based on regulations concerning what could be purchased with HAVA funds – of either purchasing the ‘Ben Franklin’ style booths or purchasing cages to secure the voting machines themselves. The booths were considered to be a better option since the cages would also require additional storage space that is not currently available. The court already required eight more booths as well, so the purchase of booths over cages was considered to be a more practical expenditure of the money.
The company which supplies the booths typically charges $1,000 per 4-person booth plus a considerable amount for shipping, which would have meant that the court would be required to contribute additional money from some other source. The court was informed on Thursday that the company decided to sell and ship the eight booths and only charge the court the $8,300 that was left of the HAVA money, so the court would not be required to make up the difference in price.
The voting booths are typically separated at a rate of one booth per precinct, but many voting locations accommodate voting from multiple precincts. The voting location at West Middle School, for instance, includes five precincts so there must be five individual voting booths where voters may fill out their ballots.
The fiscal court approved the purchase by unanimous vote.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
