Oakland County, Michigan September 8, 2006 -- Oakland County Clerk/Register Ruth Johnson, interviewed by the PBS news show "NOW" about new voting machines, says the federal government had good intentions when it made changes to America's election system.

But the changes were implemented so poorly - before proper planning, safeguards and standards were in place - that the country's election system is in trouble.

"Some states gave up hanging chads for cyber chads," says Johnson. "There is a lot at stake here - integrity in our elections is at the core of our Democracy."

The "NOW" episode, entitled "Down for the Count?" will air at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10 and 2 a.m. Monday, Sept. 11 on Detroit's PBS's Channel 56 station.

Filming took place in Oakland  County during the Aug. 8 Primary Election. Crews from the New York-based show returned to Oakland County to film several times in the weeks following the election.

The Aug. 8 Primary Election marked the first time voters in Michigan's 5,216 precincts used the new optical scan voting systems mandated by 2006 under the Help America Vote Act - the federal answer to 2000's "hanging chads" controversy. Congress appropriated $3.8 billion to purchase new systems.

Michigan, thanks to the Michigan Secretary of State, does not have new "paperless" electronic voting systems purchased in other parts of the country. Johnson said she is concerned about numerous published reports that those machines are susceptible to tampering.

"That means our vote could be diluted," she said. "Your vote is your voice - the integrity of the system has to be assured."

Here in Oakland County, Johnson said clerks in many of the county's 51 cities and townships reported numerous mechanical and design problems with their new voting machines.

Before and during the May 2 election, about 15 percent of the voting machines used in the county experienced breakdowns/problems.

Before and during the Aug. 8 Primary, the breakdown/problem rate was 13 percent of the 1,100 voting machines used.

All told, more than 26 brand new voting machines across the county had to be swapped out for loaners or spares because of mechanical problems, Johnson said.

HAVA caused such incredible demand around the country that the reliability, security and quality of the new voting equipment may have suffered.

"The county doesn't own those machines - our local communities do," Johnson said. "I don't want them being stuck with maintenance and repair bills."

In some cases, election workers had to switch machines on-and-off numerous times to get them to function. Some LED screens failed. A number of machines would not accept ballots. Clerks even had to replace 1,900 wheels.

"That's simply not acceptable for brand new, state-of-the-art equipment," the Clerk/Register said. "The election was successful and every vote counted, but that's due largely to the ingenuity and hard work of our local clerks.

"We're concerned about November when turnout will be much higher," Johnson added. "This problem needs addressing at the federal level."

In Michigan's last gubernatorial election in 2002, more than 51 percent of Oakland County's then 854,842 registered voters turned out to cast their ballots.

Video and audio versions of the television broadcast and web extras can be found at the "NOW" web site at www.pbs.org/now.