CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Voters in three West Virginia counties won't get to use new touch-screen voting machines in the Nov. 4 general election, after the state Elections Commission decided not to certify the machines Monday.

Secretary of State Betty Ireland said the commission acted out of an "abundance of caution," after the machines' manufacturer, Election Systems and Software Inc., told the state that the new machines have different parts than the machines ordered by the state in advance of the 2006 elections.

"This is a vendor saying, trust us, these are nominal changes," Ireland said.

In the letter, the Omaha, Nebraska-based company said there are a total of 14 hardware modifications in the new machines, and said the new components replace parts that were either discontinued or upgraded.

"These changes have no effect on the system's functionality and there has been no changes made to certified software," ES&S manager Kevin Kerrigan stated in the letter to the state Elections Division.

The changes have not yet been reviewed or certified by the federal Election Assistance Commission, which raised concerns for state Elections Commission member Robert Rupp.

"I'd feel a lot better about these changes by seeing a letter from the EAC," he said.

Commissioner Greg Collias at first questioned whether the new machines should be considered different from the ones purchased in 2006, simply because they contain a few different component parts.

"If an ultimately insignificant change is made, it's still the same machine," he said.

 "The problem is, it's not our place to say that," Ireland said, adding, "I'm not prepared to say this list is insignificant."

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Voters in three West Virginia counties won't get to use new touch-screen voting machines in the Nov. 4 general election, after the state Elections Commission decided not to certify the machines Monday.

Secretary of State Betty Ireland said the commission acted out of an "abundance of caution," after the machines' manufacturer, Election Systems and Software Inc., told the state that the new machines have different parts than the machines ordered by the state in advance of the 2006 elections.

"This is a vendor saying, trust us, these are nominal changes," Ireland said.

In the letter, the Omaha, Nebraska-based company said there are a total of 14 hardware modifications in the new machines, and said the new components replace parts that were either discontinued or upgraded.

"These changes have no effect on the system's functionality and there has been no changes made to certified software," ES&S manager Kevin Kerrigan stated in the letter to the state Elections Division.

The changes have not yet been reviewed or certified by the federal Election Assistance Commission, which raised concerns for state Elections Commission member Robert Rupp.

"I'd feel a lot better about these changes by seeing a letter from the EAC," he said.

Commissioner Greg Collias at first questioned whether the new machines should be considered different from the ones purchased in 2006, simply because they contain a few different component parts.

"If an ultimately insignificant change is made, it's still the same machine," he said.

 "The problem is, it's not our place to say that," Ireland said, adding, "I'm not prepared to say this list is insignificant."

The commission's action means that three counties - Ohio, Hancock and Summers - will not have the additional touch-screen machines they had ordered for the fall elections.

"If there's a big turnout, they'll have longer lines," Ireland said. "We'll help these counties out as much as we can."

The Secretary of State's Office has about 25 voting machines that it can assign to various counties to meet demand or replace out-of-service machines. However, Ireland said the office has already made commitments for many of the machines for the Nov. 4 election.

Ohio County had ordered 10 machines from ES&S, Hancock County seven and Summers County four.

Nationally, there has been an ongoing debate over whether touch-screen voting machines produced by ES&S and other manufacturers are reliable and secure.

Obtained under a $17 million grant through the federal Help America Vote Act, 34 West Virginia counties use ES&S Ivotronic touch-screen machines.

After initial glitches delayed vote tabulations in the May 2006 primary in six counties, Ireland has defended the accuracy and integrity of the ES&S machines in use in the state.

Also Monday, Ireland announced that Gov. Joe Manchin had reappointed Collias to the commission through June 30, 2014.

Reach Phil Kabler at ph...@wvgazette.com or 348-1220.