| NEWS RELEASE | SANTA CRUZ COUNTY CLERK-ELECTIONS 701 OCEAN ST., ROOM 210 SANTA CRUZ, CA 95060 831-454-2060 / FAX: 831-454-2445 Toll Free 1-866-282-5900 E-Mail: gail.pellerin@co.santa-cruz.ca.us Web Site:www.votescount.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Accessible and Verifiable Voting Coming to Some Polling Sites in June
Touch screen voting that is accessible and verifiable is coming to Santa Cruz County for the June 6, 2006 Primary Election.
Twelve touch screen voting units with a Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) will be deployed throughout the county to enable voters to vote independently and privately. Two of the units will be available for early voting, one at the Santa Cruz County Clerk/Elections Department at 701 Ocean Street, Room 210, in Santa Cruz, and the other at the Watsonville City Clerk’s Office, 215 Union Street, Second Floor, in Watsonville.
Santa Cruz County election officials intended to have one touch screen voting unit at each of the 159 polling sites established for the June election, as mandated by the federal Help America Vote Act. However, the vendor, Sequoia Voting Systems could not deliver all of the equipment at this late date. Therefore, the County Clerk has implemented a partial deployment.
Touch screen voting units will be available at the following locations on Election Day, June 6, 2006, during polling hours of 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.:
Las Cumbres Fire, 18269 Las Cumbres Rd., Los Gatos, CA 95033
Highlands Park Senior Center, 8500 Hwy. 9, Ben Lomond, CA 95005
City of Scotts Valley Community Center, 360 Kings Village, Scotts Valley, CA 95066
Senior Citizen Opportunities, 222 Market St., Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Simpkins Family Swim Center, 979 17th Ave., Santa Cruz, CA 95062
Capitola Community Center, 4400 Jade St., Capitola, CA 95010
Temple Beth El Jewish Community, 3055 Porter Gulch Rd., Aptos, CA 95003
Aegis of Aptos Assisted Living, 125 Heather Terrace, Aptos, CA 95003
Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust, 85 Neilson St., Watsonville, CA 95076
Pajaro Valley Fire Prevention District, 562 Casserly Rd., Watsonville, CA 95076
For the June election, the touch screen units will only be used as a tool for voters to cast their votes independently and privately. The votes must then be duplicated onto a Mark-A-Vote ballot in order to count the ballot.
Meanwhile, the County Clerk is moving ahead with plans to replace the current Mark-A-Vote optical scan voting system that will be used by voters for one last time this June. The new voting system is a blended system that provides one accessible touch screen unit with Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) at each polling place, partnered with a precinct-based optical scan voting system with paper ballots, and paper ballots for voters who vote by mail. The voting system the County is purchasing from Sequoia has been federally qualified and state certified.
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For more information, please call the Santa Cruz County Clerk/Elections Department at 831-454-2060, visit our office at 701 Ocean St., Room 210 in Santa Cruz, or check out our website at www.votescount.com.