The unwanted spotlight of hanging chads, dimpled chads and bickering over recounts seems a very remote possibility here in Washington. Then again, county elections supervisors probably don’t want to risk reliving Florida’s Bush vs. Gore experience in 2000.

Island County is one of 15 counties in Washington state that still uses a punch-card voting system. But that could change before the November election.

Island County Auditor Suzanne Sinclair plans to get rid of the punch cards, and she wants the public to help county officials decide what the new system should be.

County officials have invited residents to three workshops, starting today in Coupeville, to talk about how to make the change.

"It’s a good opportunity to review how we administer elections," Sinclair said.

All 15 counties will have to make the switch by Jan. 1, 2006, because of the federal Help America Vote Act.

The law is designed to avoid another Florida debacle, where the election was finally decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. It also requires touch-screen voting systems or something similar to better assist people with disabilities. Snohomish County has the only touch-screen voting system in the state, according to information provided by Secretary of State Sam Reed’s office.

In Island County, Sinclair said she has not set a timeline for making the switch. But she is warming to the idea of getting it done before this year’s election.

"We may move sooner rather than later," Sinclair said. "Before, I said we wouldn’t change during the presidential year. But then we looked at the fact that a lot of jurisdictions across the country were waiting, and there are only so many technicians to go around. I could foresee a crunch next year."

The bigger decision of what system to opt for instead has not been made. Anne LaCour, the county’s chief deputy auditor, said counties can choose from two other types of equipment: optical scanners, or electronic computer systems.

"There are various forms of those we’ll be discussing," LaCour said.

Candace Culver, wife of Langley Mayor Neil Colburn, said she had not heard of the change. Before the last presidential election, she never thought much about the potential to hang a chad in punch-card voting.

"After the Florida thing, I really started thinking about it," Culver said. "I’ve been a lot more careful and been sure every little piece gets pulled out."

If the county opted for some kind of voting via the Internet, Culver worried the votes could be manipulated by hackers.

Louis Bloom of Camano Island shared that concern. As a hobby, Bloom runs a Web site, www.lbloom.net, which lists the salaries of public employees of many state and federal agencies.

"I think electronic voting would certainly be faster and easier," Bloom said. "But I don’t like the idea that they may not have any kind of paper trail, that somebody could somehow manipulate the figures and nobody would be able to check it."

Secretary of State Sam Reed has proposed a state bill that would address their concerns. The bill would require paper verification and give voters a second chance if an error were made. It would also prohibit the state from certifying any system that connects to the Internet.

If that passes, people such as Bloom would be satisfied.

"Anything that makes it easier to vote, I’m in favor of," Bloom said.

Reporter Scott Morris: 425-339-3292 or smorris@heraldnet.com.