Come May’s Charlottesville City Council election, we’ll be testing out a new voting technology. The election will be a test case for the use of Hart InterCivic‘s eSlate Electronic Voting System. It’s sort of like an overgrown Palm Pilot, only a little more unusual looking. The highly-portaable devices are entirely ADA-compliant, store and tabulate votes electronically, and are extremely simple to use. They’re available for test use at the Registrar’s Office in the City Hall Annex. The story is from Jake Mooney’s piece in today’s Progress.
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
foursix and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
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It’s unfortunate that no one seems to be giving UVA Systems Engineering any credit for studying Charlottesville’s election procedures and making recommendations to use such a system:
Systems engineering students analyze Charlottesville’s voting procedures
The study was conducted for free as a capstone project.
It is my understanding that the Charlottesville Electoral Board had begun the process of investigating electronic machines and the City had appropriated funds for new electronic machines prior to the fiasco of Florida. This money was appropriated in Feb of 2000. The systems engineering program at UVA was a great aid in confirming the desirability of electronic machines and I’m sure that when the decision to purchase the machines is made this group will be duly recognized.