| Senators question contracts COLUMBIA - Two lawmakers want state agents to investigate how the South Carolina Election Commis-sion awarded statewide voting machine contracts. Sen. Jake Knotts, R-West Columbia, and Greg Gregory, R-Lancaster, sent a letter to the State Law Enforcement Division earlier this week. The letter includes allegations that Commission Director Marci Andino picked Nebraska-based Election Systems & Software for the $36 million contract because she had a pre-existing relationship with the company. That and other complaints were made by Scott Borchardt, the president of Palmetto UniLect, one of the companies passed over for the contract. SLED spokesman Lt. Mike Brown confirmed that Chief Robert Stewart received the letter Wednesday and said the agency would seek legal advice on the matter. Some of the allegations center on Ms. Andino, who worked for computer company Unisys before taking over the commission. In 2002, Election Systems & Software and Unisys teamed up to bid for Georgia's voting system. The companies later formed an alliance to provide statewide voter registration systems nationwide. Ms. Andino worked for Unisys during its partnership with Election Systems & Software in Georgia, but she has denied a conflict because Unisys isn't involved in the South Carolina deal. She also denied influencing the selection committee. Election Systems & Software beat out seven companies for the original contract. Palmetto UniLect was one of three companies to file complaints against the commission, which ultimately led state officials to start the process again. The deadline for new proposals is today. Ms. Andino said she had not seen the letter and could not comment on the accusations. The dispute began after President Bush signed the Help America Vote Act into law in October 2002. South Carolina got $48 million of the nearly $4 billion authorized nationwide by the act to implement and maintain a centralized and uniform statewide computerized voter registration list by 2004. Mr. Knotts and Mr. Gregory have been critics of the Election Commission's plan to use a single voting system statewide since the proposal was brought up. The plan needs to be in place by midsummer to prepare for November's general election. The state could lose $2 million in federal funds if it isn't in place.
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