The quietly arranged shotgun wedding between voting-machine giants would give ES&S control of election systems in use in almost 70 percent of the nation's voting precincts. Federal Judge Robert Kugler agreed to hear Tuesday the request for immediate injunction brought by a small competitor Hart InterCivic Inc.
 

Efforts to ensure that all of New Jersey's voting machines produce a paper record of votes generated responses ranging from "too expensive" to "don't fix what ain't broken" last week as the issue played out at polling places, in court, and at the Statehouse.

“The machines are large and heavy. They’re left in the polling places for a few days until a trucking company can pick them up,” Andrew W. Appel, a computer-science professor, testified. “Many of the polling sites are unlocked. Anyone … can open it up and replace the software inside with fraudulent software.”

At stake is whether more than 10,000 of the machines used throughout the state are accurate and reliable. If Superior Court Judge Linda R. Feinberg determines the machines are problematic, they could be decertified for use in New Jersey.

Electronic voting machines used in 18 New Jersey counties will be refitted with attachments to provide a paper trail that could be used for potential recounts, Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells has ruled.

Voters needed to use paper ballots in the first hour of voting here this morning after an error by poll workers shut down some electronic voting machines, the Burlington County Elections Superintendent said.

His team spent weeks testing two machines from Union County on behalf of the plaintiffs in a 4-year-old voting rights case before Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg in Trenton. The machines were manufactured by Sequoia Voting System, which objected to the testing, arguing it could put their trade secrets at risk.

State officials will contact election officials in all counties today to see if a glitch discovered in vote-reporting software in Union County is more widespread.
A freeholder candidate there was assigned a number that was not recognized by the electronic program, meaning his name will not appear on the summary report used for tabulating results, according to Union County officials. While the results will still accurately reflect the votes cast, they will need to be entered by hand on primary night Tuesday, the officials said.

An order signed Friday by Superior Court Judge Lee A. Solomon authorized the inspection at the request of John Gilliams, who ran fourth for three seats open on the board this year.
Gilliams' tally was 12 short of election.
Re-elected were Sara Davis and Martha Wilson. Jose Delgado, who had served on the school board for 20 years, also was elected.
Davis was re-elected president of the school board this week.