Gaithersburg's election for three seats on the City Council is attracting more attention than usual (see here and here). However, it's new voting machines are not according to the Gazette:
No one attended a seminar Friday afternoon at City Hall about how to operate the machines, said Sarah Paxton, executive assistant to the city manager and an elections coordinator. The AccuVote, which will be at all voting locations in the city, provides voters with a sequentially numbered paper ballot, which they can shade with a pen or pencil and insert into the machine. Voters can review their ballot before it is optically scanned and tallied.Unfortunately, interest in voting machines has died down since last year's fiasco in the Democratic primary. The budget deficit isn't helping matters either.AutoMARK is for the disabled and resembles a fax machine. Its accessories include headphones for the visually impaired, a ‘‘puffer tube” for voters unable to use their arms, a Braille pad and a foot pedal to control the size of the type.
This machine will be available only at City Hall, though disabled voters may use it regardless of their precinct.
