web1_TTL111518pagnotti1.jpg

Amid black landscape, site of new Wilkes-Barre Area high school takes shape

web1_web1_Ide-Charlie.jpg

Man pleads guilty to beating mom and killing dog, but says he’s mentally ill

<p>The supplier of Luzerne County&#8217;s new electronic poll books is investigating why 15 of the 220 tablets had drained batteries in the Nov. 6 election, county Election Director Marisa Crispell said Wednesday.</p><p>County Councilman Stephen A. Urban raised the issue during Tuesday&#8217;s council work session, saying he received complaints that some of the tablets had to be plugged in to charge, even though the battery life is supposed to be 20 hours.</p><p>The Nov. 6 election was the first using the $324,800 system purchased from Election Systems &amp; Software (ES&amp;S), which required voters to sign in with a stylus on a tablet. The change from paper to electronic books was designed to speed up voter processing, largely because election workers can instantly search a database if a voter&#8217;s name does not appear on their list instead of contacting the election office for that information, Crispell has said.</p><p>Crispell told the county Election Board Wednesday the 15 tablets were fully charged and examined before they were transported to polling places, with no possibility they were left turned on.</p><p>The tablets have a battery life of eight hours, but the total charge is 20 hours because they also draw from an anchor battery that has an additional 12 hours, Crispell said.</p><p>ES&amp;S engineers plan to perform a &#8220;root cause analysis&#8221; of the 15 tablets and will either resolve the problem or replace the devices before the 2019 primary, Crispell said.</p><p>Most of the feedback she received from voters and election workers about the new tablets was positive, she noted.</p><p>But Urban said some voters also were not thrilled with the stylus. He suggested the administration review options to see if a different style could help &#8220;identify the signatures easier.&#8221;</p><p>Councilman Harry Haas said he heard some &#8220;very minor&#8221; negative reviews, but the overall sentiment was the poll books were &#8220;very successful for the most part.&#8221;</p><p>Keith Gould, an election board member, told Crispell he believes the cord attached to the stylus is too short and the stylus may be awkward for some to use because it is &#8220;too light.&#8221;</p><p>Crispell said she spotted one voter pressing too hard with the stylus, preventing the signature from properly registering.</p><p>She said she will continue to assess the stylus but believes voters will adjust. The stylus must have a rubber tip, and voters cannot rest their wrists or hands on the tablet or hold the stylus at an angle as they would with a pen or pencil when they sign.</p><p>Voters struggling with the stylus also can use their fingertip to sign, an option used by many voters Nov. 6, she said.</p><p>She also planned to continue poll worker training that will stress the ability to tilt the tablets if it makes it easier for voters to sign.</p><p>Election board member Anne Davies said two elderly voters behind her Nov. 6 had no problem using the tablet, and three more she quizzed later had to be reminded about the new poll books because the change didn&#8217;t register as something memorable to them.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_Crispell.jpeg.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Crispell </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_Crispell.jpeg.jpg</photo0><caption0>Crispell </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

County vendor probing problems with some electronic polling books