Automated Vote Counting
May 29, 1974
AUTOMATED VOTE COUNTING—County Clerk Jacquelyn Fountain is shown displaying the “Accu-Vote” punch that will be used in Lassen County on June 4 to mark the primary election ballots.
For the first time in the history of elections in Lassen County, an automated system of vote counting will be used in the June 4 Primary Election. County Clerk Fountain states that the “Accu-Vote” punch will be used for marking the ballots which are on IBM type cards.
The Democratic ballot will consist of five cards; the Republican, Peace and Freedom and American Independent ballots will be printed on four cards for each party; the non-partisan voter will punch three cards.
The cards are printed and to be punched on both front and back. After the close of the polls, all ballot cards will be delivered to the central counting location in the Supervisors’ Room, Courthouse Annex, where the cards will be fed to an automatic counter that can count up to 400 cards per minute.
Clerk Fountain explains the need for a new system in Lassen County. “Due to the large number of candidates and the length of the ballots, manual counting would last until four or five o’clock in the morning in the large precincts. It is getting more and more difficult to find election officers who are willing to put in a 20-hour day for the minimal amount the state allows us to pay. Too, after such a long day at the polls, accuracy is bound to suffer.”
Mrs. Fountain stated she had investigated several methods of automated voting, and feels that the punch card with computer counting is the most feasible for Lassen County with the least cost involved. (Schullo photo).
