Appeals Court Hears Texas Electronic Voting Case
By Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press Writer
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Thousands of Texas voters could be disenfranchised unless the state orders changes to a widely used electronic voting system, a lawyer for the Texas Democratic Party told a federal appeals court Wednesday.
The party is asking the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to revive its lawsuit against the Secretary of State’s office over the use of eSlate voting machines in roughly 100 counties in Texas, including El Paso. A federal judge in Austin threw out the lawsuit last year.
Party lawyer Chad Dunn claims the machines are prone to undercounting votes in general elections, when a voter tries to cast a “straight-party” ballot for either a Democratic or Republican slate of candidates.
“The only opportunity to get the problem resolved is this lawsuit,” Dunn told a three-judge panel from the 5th Circuit in New Orleans. “The state seems to have blinders with regard to the system.”
Assistant Attorney General Kathlyn Wilson, who represents the Secretary of State’s office, said there is no evidence that the machines aren’t properly counting votes.
“People are not complaining about the eSlate,” Wilson said. “If there was a lot of confusion, the Secretary of State would be out there trying to fix it.”
The party is asking the appeals court to reverse the dismissal last year by U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks. A three-judge panel from the appeals court didn’t give a timetable for ruling.
In court papers, Wilson said Sparks correctly ruled that the Secretary of State’s office made a “reasonable and nondiscriminatory choice” in certifying the use of eSlate.
The party filed the case against former Secretary of State Roger Williams, who has been replaced by Phil Wilson. Hart InterCivic Inc. makes the eSlate machines but isn’t named as defendant in the lawsuit.
Houston, Fort Worth, Austin, Corpus Christi and El Paso are among those using eSlate, according to the party.
Dunn said eSlate uses a confusing interface, but Judge Edith Clement questioned whether the machines are to blame for any confusion.
“There might be something wrong with the voters if they’re not reading and following directions,” she said.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
