Posted on 02/28/2008 5:26:02 PM PST by Lady J USA 1981
Mock ballot to prepare county for May primary Elections - The March 11 nonbinding ballot in Yamhill County mixes silly questions with serious policy issues
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
ABBY HAIGHT The Oregonian Staff
Over the next few days, Yamhill County voters will open ballots asking them whether they prefer Paul Newman or Garth Brooks as "Director of Entertainment" and if the United States should purchase the Louisiana Territory.
The silly questions have serious intent.
County elections officials are using the mock ballot for training on a new by-mail voting system. Rather than have elections workers simply watch the system in action -- Clark County uses the same digital scanning program -- Yamhill County Clerk Jan Coleman decided to get hands-on experience during the regularly scheduled March 11 election.
"It's quite a change," Coleman said. "We'll get the experience, so we're not walking into something green as we go into the May primary."
The ballots are clearly labeled for training and include a letter from Coleman describing how to use the new system.
Yamhill County switched to the Hart InterCivic Ballot Now system in December and tested it in a small, in-house mock election. When no Yamhill County jurisdiction submitted an issue for the March 11 ballot, county commissioners approved staging the training election.
It'll cost about $10,000, but part of that is subsidized by the Help America Vote Act of 2002. And Coleman said the hands-on trial would be more effective than spending almost $4,000 for voter education material.
For the past 20 years, ballots have been cumbersome to create and sometimes oversized, so they needed two postage stamps to return. The county's 50,000 registered voters had to draw a pencil line to complete an arrow on the right side of their choice.
The new ballots shouldn't require more than one stamp. And voters will mark boxes in black or blue ink for their choices.
The new ballots will be scanned digitally, with the image stored on a disc and the paper ballot saved.
I recieved my ballot in the mail yesterday. I think I am going to keep my ballot and not vote.
I know it’s been a while since I have posted anything.
That’s nothing new.
This whole practice ballot thing is silly. I guess they think we are too stupid to figure out how to mark a box after drawing the arrow for 20 years. It’s not like we like we live in florida.
I can't believe people in this country are now so stupid that we needed an "Act" to help them vote. Geeeez. It's not rocket science.
if the United States should purchase the Louisiana Territory.
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