New voting machines make their appearance in St. Charles Parish

New voting machines have arrived in St. Charles Parish in compliance with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). To familiarize all voters with the new equipment, and to encourage voter participation in this year’s election, Registrar of Voters Brian Champagne planned activities in conjunction with “Voter Education Week,” which began on Aug. 27 and lasted until the 31st. Overall, 24,000 notices were sent to households parish wide and were paid for by the local government.

“Our goal was to encourage people to vote and examine the new voting machines,” Champagne said. “We had roughly 127 people visit the office this past week to try the new machines and register to vote. Numerous people called, and emailed to verify their correct voting address.”

With state legislated mandates in place calling for the implementation of computerized voting systems state-wide, registered voters are invited to come out and learn how to use the new machines to enable a smooth transition.

“A mock demonstration is set up which will allow voters to actually go through the voting process on the new machines,” Champagne said. “We were using lever voting machines since the 1950’s.”

Congress mandated that all states upgrade their voting systems since the Bush – Gore Presidential Election, when paper ballots caused so much confusion. The new machines allow access for people with disabilities by tilting for persons in wheelchairs. Instead of pulling a lever to select your choice of candidates, a voter only has to touch the square next to their name.

An “x” will appear by their choice. If they chose incorrectly, they must simply press the square again to clear the “x” before casting their correct vote. A display at the bottom also should match your selection. Once all votes have been casts, the voter must make sure to press the “Cast Vote” button located at the bottom of the screen to enter their vote before exiting the machine. A young person of 17 can register early and be allowed to vote if his or her birthday is on or before Election Day.