This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah's debut of new electronic voting machines has gone smoothly so far today, though few voters are showing up to try out the new technology, officials say.
Polling places statewide opened at 7 a.m. for the primary election with nearly 7,500 touch-screen ballot machines awaiting voters instead of the traditional punch-card system that was scrapped in the wake of the 2000 presidential election in Florida.
Election officials reported a few minor problems but nothing major.
In a few precincts, poll workers programmed the access cards for the machines with the wrong ballots for the voter, according to Joe Demma, director of Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert's office, which oversees elections. Other than that, "We're not seeing any problems," Demma said, "except for no one is showing up. It's unfortunate." Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen says several poll workers phoned in at the opening of the day to ask for help setting up machines. But the calls ebbed shortly after.
"It's died down," she said. "It's pretty quiet. I guess I'm thinking now it's going surprisingly well." Each county holding elections - 28 of Utah's 29 counties - has its own help desk available to help poll workers and the machine's vendor, Diebold, is staffing a main help desk in Salt Lake County where workers can call for assistance. Additionally, Diebold has more than 2000 roving technicians available in case of problems.
Election officials say results from the primary election, including the biggest race between five-term Rep. Chris Cannon and businessman John Jacob, may not be available until late tonight or early Wednesday.
Polls close at 8 p.m.