Yes on Propositions 41, 43

Chads are back in the news, but otherwise on their way out in California. The state is fortunate that its old chad-producing punch card voting machines have not caused a vote-counting scandal such as the one that occurred in Florida in November 2000. To make sure it can’t happen in the future, the Legislature has proposed a $200-million bond issue to help counties buy new voting machines and to retire punch card models.

The proposal appears as Proposition 41 on the March 5 primary election ballot, and we urge California voters to support it. Also deserving a yes vote is Proposition 43, a Florida-spawned measure that would write into the state Constitution a guarantee that every citizen’s vote will be counted as long as it is cast legally. Both measures were put on the ballot by vote of the state Legislature.

Sponsors say that 11.4 million of the state’s 15.7 million registered voters are in the handful of populous counties, including Los Angeles County, that use a punch card system. Secretary of State Bill Jones had ordered that these machines be retired by mid-2005. More recently, a federal district judge ordered replacement before the 2004 elections, making approval of the Proposition 41 bond funds more urgent. The counties need help to pay for new machines, which are a long-term capital investment suitable for a bond issue.

The counties must put up $1 for every $3 they get from the state. The state would also get some direct federal assistance under legislation now before Congress. The three sources of funds should just about cover the total estimated $367-million cost of replacing the old machines.

The counties can buy any system certified by the secretary of state, primarily the ATM-like touch-screen models used successfully in Riverside County or the optical-scan paper ballot system now used in most other counties, which electronically reads the votes marked on the ballot.

Proposition 43 would write into the state Constitution the guarantee that any vote cast according to law will be counted. Sponsors say this would prevent a Florida-style situation in which the recount of votes was halted midstream by state officials and the courts. The measure may promise more with its high-toned rhetoric than vote officials can produce, but it’s worth a try. A companion measure written into state law gives county election officials the authority to request, and the courts the authority to grant, extension of postelection deadlines to allow the full tabulation or recounting of ballots.

The Times urges voters to support both Propositions 41 and 43 on March 5.