E-voting still irregular

Alicia Robinson

Employees at the city clerk’s offices in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach

have taken on a new duty: working the polls.

They’re staffing new eSlate voting machines provided by the Orange

County Registrar of Voters for early voting, but not many people have

required their services so far.

Each city hall has had electronic voting machines -- Newport Beach

has two, and Costa Mesa has four -- since Feb. 3. Fewer than 50

people had cast votes at them as of Tuesday.

“Some people have expressed that they’d like to wait until it gets

closer to the election date,” said Julie Folsik, deputy city clerk in

Costa Mesa.

In Newport Beach also, “it’s been pretty slow,” City Clerk LaVonne

Harkless said.

Because of limited space and staff, the city hasn’t tried to

publicize early voting, leaving that up to the county, Harkless said.

While only about 1,000 people countywide had voted as of Monday at

16 locations offering early voting, registrar of voters spokesman

Brett Rowley said many people have tested out the new machines. The

March 2 primary will be the first time the new voting system is used.

The notebook-sized voting machine displays candidates’ names and

ballot measures on its screen, and voters turn a dial to make their

selections. They press one button to choose a candidate and another

to cast the ballot when they’re done. The machines also are equipped

to be used by disabled voters.

All votes cast are stored in the machines until they are retrieved

on election night.

In Newport Beach, the machines are about as secure as they can be

-- they’re set up inside a vault in the clerk’s office.

The machines are in a hallway around the corner from the clerk’s

office in Costa Mesa City Hall, but they get locked up at night.

“During the day, we know if there’s anybody at the machines,”

Folsik said.

To use the machines, voters must sign in with the clerk’s staff,

who can check voter registration records electronically. Voters’

signatures are compared with the ones on file.

With early voting, the county wants to offer voters more

flexibility, Rowley said.

Being able to come in early and not wait in a line is a big

convenience, Folsik said.

It may take a little time for people to hear about the machines,

she said, but she expects voting traffic to pick up as the election

nears.

Early voting is available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at Costa

Mesa City Hall, 77 Fair Drive, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays at

Newport Beach City Hall, 3300 Newport Blvd.