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October 30, 2012 Reliance on Voting Machine Batteries Ill-advised in Wake of Superstorm With millions of customers in multiple states out of electricity following Superstorm Sandy, how will electronic voting machines operate in the event some polling places in Pennsylvania and other states do not have power restored in time for next Tuesday's Presidential Election? VotePA today announced a warning that, should this become a problem next week, the answer is not to rely on batteries to run voting machines for all or even a substantial part of Election Day. "Officials in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and other states affected by Sandy, including our PA Governor Tom Corbett, have been quoted in the press as saying that batteries could potentially run their equipment through the day," said VotePA Executive Director Marybeth Kuznik. "We believe that depending on aging batteries to allow voting for any extended length of time would be incredibly foolish during an important national and statewide election." Kuznik, who is a 20-year District Election Board member and has observed nearly two dozen voting system examinations by the Pennsylvania Department of State, explained that vendors supply voting machines with 'backup' batteries to protect the memory and allow short periods of casting ballots in event of a power outage during a voting day. These batteries are not generally designed to run the machine for hours and hours, and certainly not for an entire election. Kuznik went on to explain that voting machine batteries lose the ability to hold a full charge as they age, just like batteries in cell phones and laptop computers. Even so-called "new" batteries that have been sitting on a shelf for several years may not hold as much charge as they did when they were first manufactured. With voting machines purchased by counties under the Help America Vote Act now in their seventh year of use, and some counties' equipment even older, battery capacity could potentially be far less than what is expected. "VotePA strongly urges any county that has polling places without power to obtain a generator to run the voting machines, and/or to consider using paper ballots," Kuznik said. "Do not rely on these voting machine batteries for any extended period of time." Kuznik also pointed out that in addition to power for the voting machines, with the shorter daylight hours of November, lighting in the polling places will also be needed. "While Pennsylvania still has a 1937 law* on its books requiring a lantern to illuminate polling places, electric lights are obviously much better," she said. Kuznik added, "we hope no polling place will be without power next Tuesday, but if that happens, a safely-operated generator providing power to both the voting machines and electric lights will be a much stronger choice than relying on aging batteries and 1937-era lanterns." "The most important thing is for voters to come out and vote," she said. "Don't let a storm like Sandy or anything else deny you your voice in our democracy." ###   *PA Election Code 25 P.S. § 3012 (c)(1) : ( c) The county election board shall furnish, at the expense of the county, and deliver with each voting machine: * 1. A lantern, or a proper substitute for one, which shall give sufficient light to enable voters, while in the voting machine booth, to read the ballot labels, and suitable for the use of election officers in examining the counters. The lantern, or proper substitute therefor, shall be prepared and in good order for use before the opening of the polls.     About VotePA: We are a statewide alliance dedicated to voting rights and election integrity. As a grassroots citizen group we count registered voters of five different political parties and non-partisan voters among our membership, united by belief in the right of every eligible citizen to vote for candidates of his or her choice and to have every vote counted accurately. We are a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization, as such donations to support our work are not tax-deductible but are very much needed and much appreciated. DONATE