6:00am | Despite having early criticisms when it was first introduced — particularly in Texas, where it was most widely used as well as where the manufacturer, Hart InterCivic, is based — the misconceptions and fears about electronic voting have seemingly died down. Fear of miscounts, the government “stealing” votes, unknown connections to the Internet, and rigged machines have all but dimmed as the eSlate voting system now reaches across the entire country, including its debut here in Long Beach for the upcoming April election.
According to the City of Long Beach website, the eSlate is an electronic voting device, also known as a Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting system, acclaimed for its ease of use and accessibility. The incorporation of the device is an attempt by City Clerk Larry Herrera to make more of the voting process within instead of relegated to independent contractors (a common thing for L.A. County cities that conduct their own municipal elections).
Along with making elections more in-house-driven, the hope with the eSlate is to increase voting accessibility to Long Beach’s disabled or impaired. In a previous article, the examination of the need for accessibility to voting was addressed and Los Angeles County as a whole is hoping to become one of the most progressive places in the nation with regards to accessibility. The eSlate, at least the City is hoping, is one step in that direction. For example, for the seeing impaired, there is an audio command function and for the motor impaired, special buttons help them access voting choices.
The eSlate Early Voting System rolls out officially this upcoming Monday, March 12, where it will be accessible until April 3 at City Hall daily from 9:00am to 4:00pm. Voters will be casting their choices for Council seats in the 2nd, 4th, and 8th Districts, the LBUSD Districts of 2 and four, as well the 4th area of Long Beach City College.