HOW WE SEE IT

Voting Method At The Heart Of Woes

Since the Nov. 6 general election that became a multiday story in Benton County, the election commission has been criticized by this newspaper and, more importantly, from voters.

But let’s start this missive with a dose of praise.

The Benton County Election Commission Tuesday approached the Finance Committee of the Quorum Court. The Quorum Court holds the purse strings to any money the commission will need.

Commissioners described their thoughts abouthow to improve the county’s capabilities to run an eff cient election and get the votes counted once the polls close. This is, after all, home to the world’s largest retailer, not a third-world country.

We’ll put oft discussionof specifics for a moment and ofter our thanks to the commission for putting forth some bold ideas. It will no doubt take some serious changes, not simple tweaks, to cure what ails the election process that left voters last month standing in lines for hours, equipment breaking down and patience becoming short.

Some ideas might cost more than a Southeastern Conference football coach makes in six months.

Hey, we told you this was daunting stuft .

Commissioners John Brown Jr. and Russ Anzalone said the county should rely mostly on paper ballots on election day and heavily on electronic voting machines during early voting; add three early voting locations to the six operated in 2012; and add at least one more full-time employee.

Is that the way to go? We’ve got to be honest. The members of our editorial board strongly disagreed over the best method for collecting the votes of Benton County residents.

Some agreed with an emphasis on paper ballots, because they don’t break down and, as Justice of the Peace Kurt Moore noted, paper ballots mean you’re only limited by the number of places people can sit.

Other members of our board argued forcefully for full-scale electronic balloting, citing a distrust for paper ballots, the commission’s history of printing an inadequate supply and the notion that properly serviced technology in the 21st century should be advanced enough to get the job done.

Agreement came, however, on one element: The deepest problems aft ecting Benton County’s elections are the result of poor execution. The commission builds a strong case for new personnel, and certainly new technology required of either paper or electronic voting requires levels of expertise an average poll worker likely will not have.

The question is, what will the people with the money - the Quorum Court - do? This will require a significant commitment of taxpayer dollars unless they’re content to look like the Banana Republic of Arkansas’ 75 counties.

The focus is pretty simple: Make the voter experience much better by creating the capacity to move them through the process quickly; and develop a system that accurately, quickly and transparently counts the ballots at the end of the day.

Going primarily electronic is an option, but a costly one. It’s a fine idea if the county commits the money necessary to equip polling places with enough machines to handle the crowds.

Paper ballots require less technology at each polling place, but also a competent eftort to print enough - but not too many - ballots. A reliable system of voting can’t be tainted by running out of ballots.

Benton County offcials need to fully embrace the public demand for a better voter experience.

The residents are not asking too much.

Opinion, Pages 10 on 12/09/2012

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