Rice County Voting Machines

Curious about Rice County's voting machines? I was. All of those scary stories about skewed election results from Florida in 2000 where endless debates on "chads" took place and from Ohio in 2004 where the uproar centered on hacking interference with touch screen voting machines had made me a little edgy. I wanted to know what was what in Rice County, so I asked Rice County Auditor-Treasurer, Fran Windschitl about the Rice County voting machines.

Rice County uses the Election Systems and Software Model 100 which is installed in every County precinct. The actual voting process is done manually. Voters mark the oval next to their candidate of choice. From the voter's hand, it goes through a scanner which checks for mismarks (e.g. four votes when asked for one) or ovals left blank.

There is also an electronic alternative which any voter may use, but is particularly helpful to voters with physical challenges. The Auto Mark is a glorified electronic pen or keypad. It has a headset function, a blow tube function and a touch screen function. Fran says few voters use the Auto Mark, but for those who do, it tells you how you voted and you are able to inspect your vote.

Once the ballots are scanned, the scanner tallies the votes and audits the precincts. There are random tests for scanner accuracy and any candidate is free to ask for a recount. If it is within a certain margin of error, the recount is free. If it is less, there is a fee for the recount. In the past, recounts have proven the first count to be 100% accurate.

I don't know if that eased your mind, but it helped me a lot. Of course, the main way to make your vote count for your chosen candidate is to get out and vote, and vote correctly. If you find yourself using the Auto Mark, make sure that you inspect your vote before you put it through the scanner

Welcome!

Some of you may remember my website of a few years ago. Not many, I am certain, since so few site visitors were noted. However, it's a new day! Blogging sites abound and now that I have one, I hope to engender more interest in the weekly Rice County Commissioner Meetings. Remember, they affect us all, whether you are aware of it or not.

Unfortunately, the average Rice County citizen is not aware of County government until they receive a letter from the County informing them that something they don't want in the neighborhood has made plans to move next door to them. By then, it is usually too late to do much about it.

So, come join me for the wonderful, whimisical world of the Rice County Commissioners. It may well glaze, daze and baffle you but it will certainly amaze you!

January 22, 2008 Meeting

The main topic of discussion focused on the rezoning of Kielmeyer Construction's gravel pit in Nerstrand. This site is adjacent to the Nerstrand Woods which contains substantial remnants of the original Big Woods and is considered a County treasure. The request is to rezone the land from Agricultural to Limited Industrial. Although this is a rezoning item, the rezoning is being requested by a company that will use the site to store fire works once the rezoning is accomplished.

Why use a gravel pit for something other than mining sand and gravel, you might ask. The simple answer is that the pit is played out and this company is still looking for a way to profit from it.

But there is a history with gravel pits of this type. This gravel pit along with several others was in operation prior to the adoption of the more recent Zoning Ordinances. Under the new Zoning Ordinances, owners and/or operators of gravel pits must put up a bond for pit rehabilitation. Since this pit was already in operation, it was "grandfathered in" - given a free pass around the new ordinances. They don't have to put up a bond for rehabilitation and they don't have to cover the empty pit. Many of us have wondered what would happen when these pits were played out. I just don't think that we ever saw this particular scenario coming. The main problem is that it is in a historic, environmental area, isolated from services that might ensure safety to the woods and residents and, has rightly been labeled by those residents as spot zoning.

This Agenda item had already been denied by the Planning Commission based on four findings:

1) The site is within the statuary boundaries of Big Woods State Park.

2) The site is inappropriately isolated from other Limited Industrial areas.

3) Re-zoning would allow many industrial type uses which may not be compatible with the surrounding area.

4) Other land is available in Rice County appropriate for this use without rezoning this parcel.

Of course, not all of the Commissioners agreed with these findings. One major concern revolved around the idea that this was a prime example of spot zoning (dropping a small and different type of zoning area into a larger different type of zone - frequently done in some places to accommodate a particular land owner).

When asked by the Chair, Steve Bauer, for a legal opinion, County Attorney, Paul Beaumaster, said that it would take two weeks. The applicants waived the 60 day rule, so the hearing was tabled until February 12.

The Commissioners Speak:

"This site is the best place of anywhere in the County. It's in my district and I don't have a problem with it......It cannot be located in town, it has to be located in an isolated area. Now, he's (Kielmeyer) got this gravel pit all used up and he's got the chance to move on and I applaud him for that." Jake Gillen

"What the Planning Commission learned is that rezoning is broader than the individual applicant." Jim Brown (Brown asked Trent McCorkell to list other uses for Limited Industrial. They include adult entertainment, contractors yards, landfills and warehousing.)

"This is the perfect place for it, but it has to be rezoned. We have to come up with something to do with gravel pits after they're empty." Milt Plaisance

"I'm not one for turning business away but we have to think about bringing in businesses with (good) quality of life. We have to think about safety issues. Does the Nerstrand Fire Department, even with the back up of Faribault, have the ability to deal with it?" Galen Malecha

"We are setting a dangerous precedent. We don't want to see everyone come in with this plan to fix abandoned gravel pits." Steve Bauer

Well, it appears at least three of the Commissioners are deep thinkers. Remember folks, these people represent you! Call them, study their votes and remember them when you vote next time.