Story by Rodger Nichols for Gorge Country Media
Wasco County Commissioners met yesterday, and one of the items they approved was the purchase of a system for the clerk’s office that would greatly improve voting security for members of the armed forces stationed overseas and help decipher problem ballots. Commissioner Jeff Justesen checked his understanding of how it works with Wasco County Clerk Crissy Zaugg:
“So if I voted at home, and I spilled my coffee on there and it’s hard to read, is that the type of thing you’re talking about?/Yes/And so this system, you feed my hard-to-read ballot in there and it duplicates it so it’s clean, and so it will read more efficiently in the voting tabulation machine, is that what we’re talking about?/Yep.”
Zaugg said for security’s sake it would only be used on a computer that was completely isolated from the Internet so no hacker could get to it. Input would only be by thumb drive containing a scan of the original hard-to-read ballot.
County Administrator Tyler Stone said he wanted to emphasize the security of the system:
“The ballot will be transposed onto a new ballot, and that ballot will be verified against the original by two people from opposing parties in a physical check?/Yep.”
Commissioners also approved a new emergency management master plan, which had not been updated since 2017. This one even has detailed evacuation plans for every community in the county, whether incorporated or not.
And, speaking of emergencies, Commissioners extended the declaration of emergency for the Rowena Fire through July 1. Cleanup is still under way and the declaration allows additional resources for the task.
And Sheriff Lane Magill appeared on behalf of an extension to the agreement between his office and the Parks Department, that pays the county $100,000 a year to patrol the lower Deschutes, which serves as part of the county’s border.
“When it comes to Sherman County, if there’s any incidents in Sherman County, we still do provide those patrols. It just kinda depends on the situation and the circumstance for any kind of criminal investigations, violations or anything like that. So it’s a joint working relationship. It’s a real positive thing for the Sheriff’s Office and I think it’s a real positive input, quite frankly for the lower Deschutes River corridor because it does give those citizens a sense of security that we’re down there and available to assist them.”