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County's backup computers ready for election night [The Wenatchee World, Wash.](Wenatchee World, The (WA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 31--WENATCHEE -- The computer program the state uses to tabulate votes on election night runs only on computers so old they're no longer serviced. That's why Chelan County Auditor Skip Moore has a closet in his office containing four, new-in-the-box, "old computers" -- backups in case the one in use on election night breaks down. He expects the county's computer to be working fine Nov. 4, but is eager for the state and feds to certify a new system that will work on modern computers. "We're left to the whims and wills of the federal certification authority, and they have not certified a new software since at least 2006," he said. Moore read an article a couple of months ago about elections officials in another state who had to run to yard sales to try to find laptops old enough to be compatible with the antiquated Windows 2003, the same program Washington State uses. The backups ensure he won't get stuck on election night. "We can just plug them in and keep working," he said of any of his four spare, 8-year-old machines. "We didn't want to have to scurry around." Both the feds and a consortium of states appear close to certifying new software suitable for modern computers, he said, at a cost of about $200,000. But the switchover won't be ready in time for Tuesday night. "There's no requirement to switch to the newer stuff, but we've been able to put away some money," he said. "We don't want to go into the presidential election in 2016 with a 10-year-old computer system." He added, "It's like, if they weren't going to make any more screw-in light bulbs, when do you change the sockets in the house? I'm not going to yard sales, so that's a good thing. But you're just hanging out there, and I don't want us to be there." Reach Christine Pratt at 509-665-1173 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @CPrattWW. ___ (c)2014 The Wenatchee World (Wenatchee, Wash.) Visit The Wenatchee World (Wenatchee, Wash.) at www.wenatcheeworld.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |