Nov 27, 2008 1:15 pm US/Central
Senate Voting Board Getting An Update
ST. PAUL (AP) ―
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Minnesota State Capitol (File)
CBS
New voting boards being installed in the Minnesota Senate chamber promise to give a clearer view of what's going on.
The old electromechanical voting system had senators' names with red and green lights showing their yes-and-no votes. But those lights were often hard to see.
The new voting boards, which are being installed this week, will have the senators' names along with green Y's for "yes" votes and red N's for "no" votes. In addition, there will be a display that not only shows the bill number, but also gives a subject description of the legislation with the name of the senator sponsoring it.
Jim Greenwalt, director of Senate information systems, said the old voting system was installed in 1980 and needed to be replaced because it wasn't possible to replace broken parts.
The new voting board is part of a $500,000 system that also includes voting buttons for senators and touch screens for clerks.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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