Secretary of State Trey Grayson told a panel of lawmakers yesterday that he favors two major changes to the state's election system: requiring a paper trail of all votes and allowing voters to cast ballots up to a month before Election Day.
The ideas were immediately panned by Fayette County Clerk Don Blevins and others, who argued that voters have already had to endure too much change over the past year.
"I'm asking you to slow the freight train down," Blevins told the General Assembly's Task Force on Elections, Constitutional Amendments and Intergovernmental Affairs. "We're getting this thing too complicated."
New electronic voting machines were added across the state this year in response to a law passed by Congress after the 2000 presidential election.
Still, several Democratic lawmakers expressed support for the Republican secretary of state's ideas, saying they have serious concerns about voter turnout and election security. "I strongly favor early voting as long as the proper safeguards are on it," said state Rep. J.R. Gray, D-Benton.
Allowing voters to go to the clerk's office and cast their ballots over a period of weeks, as Grayson urged lawmakers to consider, would be a costly endeavor that would likely overwhelm his office, Blevins said.
"Early voting will be costly, and it will not increase turnout," he said.
Thirty-one states already allow no-excuse early voting and more than 20 require a paper trail for all votes. Kentucky, which opens polls only on Election Day between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., has one of the most restrictive voting periods in the nation. Also, those who vote absentee must vouch that they will be out of town on Election Day.
Although Grayson said he supports early voting and having a paper trail that could be audited, he did not make specific proposals that would require either. Grayson's spokesman, Les Fugate, said the cost of allowing early voting could vary dramatically depending upon how long the voting period was extended.
Adding equipment that would allow voters to view a paper version of their ballot through a glass window would cost about $1,000 per voting machine.
Grayson said the equipment could be purchased using some of about $15 million in leftover money the federal government had provided to help the state convert to electronic voting machines.
Two Democratic lawmakers from Louisville, Rep. Mary Lou Marzian and Darryl Owens, said adding a paper trail is a no-brainer. "I think that is a small price to pay for voter confidence," Marzian said.
Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, has already said he wants all voting machines to provide a paper trail.
However, Blevins argued that adding the new equipment would only make Election Day lines longer.
"All you get at the end of the day is a warm fuzzy," Blevins said. "It doesn't change anything."
He and two other county clerks told lawmakers they would prefer to spend the excess money on increased training for poll workers and additional voting machines, both of which would shorten long lines that were a source of frustration for many on Nov. 7.
Lawmakers expressed frustration over long lines in the state's urban areas and questioned Roger Baird of Harp Elections Services, the company that maintains voting machines in 96 Kentucky counties, about the roll new electronic machines played in creating the long wait.
Rep. Joe Barrows, D-Versailles, said he hasn't talked to anyone who likes the new machine, called eSlate, noting that his 84-year-old mother was forced to wait in line for 45 minutes.
"I didn't like it either when I first saw it," Baird said. However, he said it is the best machine available that conforms with new federal law, which requires that voting machines be accessible for people with handicaps.
Although Grayson acknowledged that the voting machine got negative reviews from many, he said the long waits had more to do with an extremely long ballot that occurs only once every 24 years.
"Moving forward, these machines are pretty simple to use, and I think voter acceptance will come," he said.