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--> --> Bradbury upset with no action on punch cards By Jessica Bujol Associated Press Writer SALEM - The 2001 Legislature should have seized an opportunity to eliminate punch cards, still used during elections in seven Oregon counties, a disappointed Secretary of State Bill Bradbury said Monday. In a written statement released Monday, Bradbury said the Florida elections fiasco should have given lawmakers ample evidence that punch cards in Oregon are a disaster waiting to happen. "We have clearly seen that punch cards are not voter-friendly in a vote-by-mail environment and we owe it to our voters to ensure that every vote counts," he said. Marian Hammond, a spokeswoman for Bradbury, said she wasn't sure why the Legislature decided to drop the issue before it adjourned. "Up until the very end of the session this was something that had broad bipartisan support. We're not sure why it got pulled out at the last minute," she said. "But strange things happen in the 11th hour." Funding issues may have hampered HB2587's progress after county officials expressed concern that they might get stuck with the cost of replacing the punch card systems. State lawmakers were also hesitant to shell out the necessary funding. But Hammond says the two sides reached a compromise that would have had the state paying half of the estimated $2 million needed for the upgrade to an optical scanning system. The optical scanners are used to read ballots where voters shade in a bubble or fill in a line to indicate their choices. Federal money could also have been available for the project, and Bradbury said he will continue to work with federal officials to secure funding for the elimination of punch cards in Oregon. Bradbury did praise election reforms enacted during the session, including measures that would centralize voter registration, study the possibility of supplying ballots in Spanish and allow 18-year-olds to serve in the state Legislature. "I really want to applaud the bipartisanship and levelheadedness of the Legislature for ensuring that we were able to make forward progress in election reform," he said. Election reforms Election reforms passed by the 2001 Legislature: · Centralized voter registration. · A study of the feasibility of providing ballots and voting materials in Spanish. · Asked voters to amend the state constitution to allow 18-year-olds to serve in the Legislature. · Required that ballot drop boxes be labeled as "official" or "unofficial." · Eliminated electioneering within 100 feet of drop sites. · Allowed observers to monitor the process of tallying ballots in each county. Associated Press Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing