Section 4.1 - Voting Equipment

This topic is monitored by Moritz Law Professor Daniel Tokaji. For up-to-date news and commentary on voting technology, the Help America Vote Act, and other voting equality issues, see Professor Tokaji's Equal Vote Blog.

What Voting Equipment Will Ohio's 10 Largest Counties Be Using?

When the polls open on November 2, 2004, most Ohio voters will find the same voting equipment that they used four years ago. For approximately 70% of Ohio citizens, that means the Votomatic punch card machine, the same type used by most voters in Florida's 2000 election. Of Ohio's 88 counties, a total of 69 will use punch cards in 2004.

The chart below lists the type of equipment that Ohio's 10 largest counties 1  will use in November 2004. It also lists each county's residual vote rate (the sum of overvotes and undervotes) for the 2000 presidential election. 2

County	Registered Voters	Equipment	Residual Vote Rate 3
Cuyahoga	861,113	Punch Card	2.67%
Franklin	706,668	Electronic	0.61%
Hamilton	522,307	Punch Card	1.67%
Montgomery	334,787	Punch Card	2.78%
Summit	334,515	Punch Card	3.19%
Lucas	281,500	Optical Scan	0.44% 4
Stark	246,562	Punch Card	1.97%
Mahoning	177,445	Electronic	2.37% 5
Lorain	166,092	Punch Card	2.01%
Lake	150,137	Electronic	0.56%

1. County size is based upon the number of registered voters in 2002.

2. The source of this information is data provided by the Ohio Secretary of State's office.

3. For those counties which used different systems for in-precinct and absentee voting, only the in-precinct residual vote rate is shown.

4. Lucas County used lever machines for in-precinct voting in 2000, but will use an optical-scan system in 2004.

5. Mahoning County used an optical scan system in 2000, but will use an electronic system for in-precinct voting in 2004.